Northern Demersal Scalefish Fishery (Kimberley) Closed area, TAE, gear controls, notional TAC Tropical snapper, emperors, groupers 11 licences under ITE (2010) 7 vessels collectively operated the assigned effort for the 11 licences (2010) At least 21 people (2010) 1116 t (2010) Fletcher & Santoro 2010; 2011 Northern Shark Fisheries (Northern Shark) Limited entry, TAE, gear restrictions, spatial and seasonal closures Sandbar, blacktip, tiger and lemon sharks Not reported 2 3–5 part-time per vessel (2009) 231 t (mean annual catch between 2006–07 and 2008–09) Fletcher & Santoro 2010; 2011 Pearl Oyster Fishery TAC, ITQ, minimum size limit, spatial management TAC, maximum size limit), limited entry Indo-Pacific pearl oyster 572 wild-stock ITQ units allocated across three management zones (Zone 1 = 115 units; Zone 2 = 425 units; Zone 3 = 32 units) 350 hatchery ITQ units allocated among 14 pearling licensees (2010) 4vessels, 4447 dive hours (2010) 10–14 per vessel (2010) 397, 947 oysters (2010) Fletcher & Santoro 2010; 2011 Shark Bay Prawn (and Scallop) Fishery Limited entry; spatial, moon phase and temporal closures; gear controls, gear restrictions Mainly king and tiger prawns 27 Shark Bay Prawn Fishery only. In 2009, industry bought back 9 inactive licences, resulting in 18 active licenses 18 (Shark Bay Prawn Fishery only) (2010) 150 skippers and crew, 100 processing staff at Carnarvon, Geraldton and Fremantle (2010) 1545 t prawns 1592 t scallops (2010) Fletcher & Santoro 2010; 2011
Western Australian Trochus Fishery Maximum and minimum size limits, spatial closures, annual quota, reef walking/wading only (no diving), all trochus must be sold through one central point Trochus niloticus Approximately 30 n.a. n.a. 10 t dry weight (13 t live weight). WA DoF (unpublished data) West Coast Demersal Gillnet and Longline (Interim) Managed Fishery Limited entry, effort controls, temporal closures, gear restrictions, maximum legal size limit for one target species Dusky, sandbar and whiskery shark 20 (2009–10) 4 (2010) 9 skippers and crew Shark: 198.1 t Scalefish: 35.3 t (2009–10) Fletcher & Santoro 2010; 2011 West Coast Demersal Scalefish Fishery Limited entry, gear restrictions, max no. hours annually, total catch limit West Australian dhufish (Glaucosoma hebraicum) and pink snapper (Pagrus auratus), but also catch substantial numbers of up to 100 other species 60 permits 50 N/A, estimates assume on average 1–3 crew members per boat 365 t (2010) Fletcher & Santoro 2010; 2011 ITE = individual transferable effort; ITQ = individual transferable quota; n.a. = not available; SFR = statutory fishing rights; t = tonne; TAC = total allowable catch; TAE = total allowable effort; VMS = vessel monitoring system
they are in good health they are too young to retire they feel part of their local community they have been able to handle unforeseen situations in the past thanks to their resourcefulness they have people they can ask for help when problems arise. Two of the case studies (Case study: Western Tuna and Billfish Fishery—displacement and prospective fishing and Case study: West Coast Demersal Gillnet and Longline fisher) illustrate two individuals’ desire to continue fishing and to consider other options to make their business viable so that they can stay in the industry. Figure Ability to adapt—personal Data source: ABARES, Your marine areas matter: a survey of commercial fishers' values and preferences for Commonwealth marine reserves in the North and North-west Marine Regions of Australia Community impacts The assessment of community impacts focused mainly on communities with a direct link to the fisheries displaced by the draft marine reserves network. However, a number of focus group and interview participants commented on impacts that they believed would flow through to the wider Australian community. Information about community impacts was largely derived from interviews with fishing industry representatives from Carnarvon, and relates specifically to that town. Although the fishing industry only represents around 4.2 per cent of employment in Carnarvon (223 people), it was reported to play a key role in supporting employment and development in a range of other sectors associated with the need to supply boats, crew, housing, support services and seasonal employment that complements other industries (see Case study: Carnarvon—flow-on impacts to the community). Nor-West Seafoods supports the majority of fishing industry employment in the Carnarvon community. A participant noted that, if the impacts are significant, Nor-West Seafoods may need to look at options for moving the factory to offshore processing (see Case study: impacts to the community). Besides supporting employment and development in Carnarvon, it was reported that the fishing sector also facilitates lower fuel costs and more efficient electricity supply due to economies of scale linked to their presence in the area. The findings for Carnarvon could be applied to other small to medium-scale communities across the North-west Marine Region where fishing is a significant industry. flow-on
Table S Overview of additional potentially impacted fisheries and aggregate prices used to calculate gross value of production under the final North-west Commonwealth Marine Reserves Network proposal Fishery Management arrangements Target species Number of licences Number of vessels (year) Employment Catch (tonnes) Price ($)/kg (derivation) Sources Western Australia Pilbara Fish Trap Fishery Limited entry, individual transferrable effort, restricted number of trap days, spatial closures Red emperor, crimson snapper, blue-spotted emperor, Rankin cod, goldband snapper, spangled emperor 6 licences, allocation consolidated into 3 vessels 3 (2010) 8 fishers 489 8.00 Same as West Coast Demersal Gillnet and Longline Fishery as derived from the South-west Marine Region Fletcher & Santoro (2010, 2011) West Coast Demersal Scalefish Fishery Limited entry (before 1 January 2008 it was open access), gear restrictions, individual transferable effort system came into place at start of 2009 West Australian dhufish, pink snapper, emperors, baldchin groper, breaksea cod 60 Interim Managed Fishery permits 50 (2010) The 50 permitted vessels that fished in the fishery in 2010 employed up to 3 crew members, with most employing 1 crew member per trip 365 8.00 Same as West Coast Demersal Gillnet and Longline Fishery as derived from the South-west Marine Region Fletcher & Santoro (2010, 2011)