Background
For a more detailed history of commercial fishing in NSW see J Wilkinson (1997).
1
Commercial Fishing in Nsw: Origins and Development to the Early 1990s, Briefing
Paper No 15/97, NSW Parliamentary Library Research Service, Sydney.
P J Kailola, M J Williams, P C Stewart, R E Reichelt, A McNee, and C Grieve,
2
(1993). Australian Fisheries Resources, Bureau of Resource Sciences and the
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation, Canberra, p 8
NSW Fisheries (1997). Heritage and Conservation Register, NSW Fisheries, Sydney,
3
p 13
NSW Fisheries (1997), Heritage and Conservation Register, pp 15-16
4
3
1 THE HISTORY OF FISHING AND FISHERIES
MANAGEMENT IN NEW SOUTH WALES
1
This chapter sets out the history of fishing in New South Wales from pre-European
colonisation to the introduction of the Fisheries Management Act 1994. Significant
events in relation to recreational and commercial fishing, State and Commonwealth
fisheries management and fisheries research are listed chronologically.
1.1 Aboriginal Fisheries Exploitation Prior to Colonisation
Prior to colonisation by Europeans, both the inland and coastal fisheries of New
South Wales were exploited by aboriginal people for food and trade. Fishing
technologies used included nets, hook and line, spears, and fixed and moveable
traps. There is evidence that both women and men took part in fishing activities,
2
and that canoes and berley were also utilised.
3
Although fish constituted a significant proportion of the diet of coastal aboriginal
communities, aboriginal fishing activity appears to have had little impact on fish
populations or distributions. Analysis of estuarine and coastal mounds of shells and
fishbones, known as middens, around the Sydney area indicates that snapper,
bream, groper, wrasse, morwong, mulloway, leatherjacket, flathead, tailor, blackfish,
and various molluscs were eaten by local tribes.
4
1.2 1788 to 1864: Initial European Fishing Activity
Small scale fishing activity by Europeans commenced immediately after the
establishment of the colony at Port Jackson in 1788. The strain of over 1,000 extra
Chapter One
NSW Fisheries (1997), Heritage and Conservation Register, p 15
5
NSW Fisheries (1997), Heritage and Conservation Register, p 18
6
P Pownall (1979). Fisheries of Australia, Fishing News Books, Farnham, Surrey, p
7
90
Pownall (1979), Fisheries of Australia, p 91
8
4
mouths to feed on the area’s natural resources, including its fisheries, contributed
to the starvation of Aborigines during the winter of 1788. In response, Governor
Phillip issued a General Order to fishing parties to give part of their catch to
Aborigines if approached.
5
The earliest reference to a local commercial fishing industry appears in the Sydney
Gazette of 14 December 1806, which referred to a boatload of salted fish that was
landed at the Hospital Wharf, Circular Quay. Fish auctions were first held in Sydney
about 1827.
6
Whaling was the dominant form of commercial fishing in NSW in the first half of the
19th Century. Whaling was undertaken primarily for export, with whale products
being the leading export of the Colony until 1833. Although whaling declined in the
7
second half of the century as the demand for whale oil fell (due to increased use of
gas for lighting and cooking), the industry did lead to the establishment of ports
which later re-emerged as major centres in NSW for the deep-sea fishing industry,
with Eden being the most prominent.
8
As whaling declined, some of those in the industry turned to supplying table fish for
local consumption. This industry was geographically constrained by limitations on
the transport of fish due to putrefaction, the tainting of other goods during transit,
and a relatively small local population centred on Sydney. Michael Lorimer, in his
MA Thesis, The Technology and Practices of the New South Wales Fishing Industry
1850 - 1930, notes that by the 1860s:
The only significant market was that of Sydney, which was
supplied by a small group of fishermen living in the... suburbs
around Port Jackson. Using small open boats, no longer than
25 [feet], propelled by sail and oars, they worked the enclosed
waters of Port Jackson and the nearby offshore reefs and
headlands. The number of operating fishing boats is unclear
from the very limited documentary data available. I would
Background
M Lorimer (1984). The Technology and Practices of the New South Wales Fishing
9
Industry 1850 - 1930, MA Thesis, University of Sydney, pp 92-93
Godden Mackay Consultants (1997). NSW Fisheries Heritage and Conservation
10
Register, Godden Mackay Consultants, Sydney, p 19
G Carter (1986). Fisheries Law in New South Wales, NSW Department of
11
Agriculture, Sydney, p 19
Lorimer (1984), The Technology and Practices of the New South Wales Fishing
12
Industry 1850 - 1930, pp 94-101
5
suggest that there were less than 25 boats... Fish, at this time,
was a luxury item rather than a normal feature of the diet...
Between 1850 and 1863 the fishing industry remained static
with fish reaching the Sydney consumer regularly from Port
Jackson and occasionally in winter from Broken Bay and
Botany Bay.
9
1.3 1865 to 1888: Technological Innovation, Government Intervention,
and the Introduction of Trout
By the mid-1860s the use of fine-mesh nets that destroyed large quantities of fry and
the practice of ‘stalling’, whereby fixed nets were used to isolate shallow bays or
mud flats at high tide in order to leave fish stranded at low tide, had seriously
depleted stocks in the waters around Sydney. Eventually concerned fishers enlisted
the assistance of Richard Driver Jnr MLA in bringing the matter before a
Parliamentary select committee.
10
Gerard Carter, former Legal Officer with NSW Fisheries, has noted that:
The outcome of the Select Committee’s considerations was the
Fisheries Act 1865. That Act divided the year into winter and
summer months and specified the description of nets which
could lawfully be used during... [each] period. The Act also
made it an offence to fix or stake any net within a mile of the
shore or at the mouth of any river. The administration of the
Act was entrusted to the Police and Customs Departments.
11
Regular fish shipments to Sydney from outside the Greater Sydney Region
commenced in the early 1870s with the introduction of steamships. The expansion
12
Chapter One
Lorimer (1984), The Technology and Practices of the New South Wales Fishing
13
Industry, pp 94-101
Fisheries Inquiry Commission (1880). Report of the Royal Commission 13 May
14
1880, NSW Legislative Assembly, Sydney, p 23
6
of the commercial fishing industry was further encouraged with the erection of a fish
market building in Woolloomooloo by the Sydney Municipal Council in 1872, the
widespread availability of ice from butter factories, and the expansion of the railway
networks emanating out of Sydney and Newcastle in the 1880s.
13
Despite the restrictions of the Fisheries Act 1865, overfishing continued in the
Sydney area with the 1880 Royal Commission on Fisheries commenting that:
Port Jackson, although at one time, and not many years ago,
holding a very high rank among our fishing grounds for all
kinds of the best net fish, is now scarcely deserving as being
regarded as a source of supply at all. And this is owing... to
the ceaseless and often wanton process of netting to which
every bay and flat has been subjected for the past fifteen or
twenty years. The wholesale destruction within the harbour
caused by... nets... with meshes almost small enough for a
naturalist’s hand has of course produced its natural effect on
the outside grounds, where the snapper can now only be taken
in very small quantities...
14
In relation to species introduction and translocation into the Colony’s inland fisheries
the Royal Commission reported:
There can be no doubt that the transfer from one part of the
country to another of the best of our fresh-water fishes is a
much more sensible and feasible proceeding than the
introduction with much trouble and at great expense of some
of the most useless fishes of the European rivers. Old
associations, however natural, connected with the names of
gudgeon, carp, perch, &c., should not induce us to stock our
rivers or fish-ponds with such inferior fishes. But it is quite
possible to go too far even in the much better direction of the
transfer of our western fishes to our eastern waters. The cod,
as we have before observed, is a most destructive fish,
Background
Fisheries Inquiry Commission (1880), Report of the Royal Commission 13 May
15
1880, p 37
Carter (1986), Fisheries Law in New South Wales, p 20
16
7
swallowing up everything that comes in its way, not excepting
its own species; and its introduction into new waters might
result in the final destruction of other kinds. Some caution,
therefore, should be used in the introduction of such a
formidable fish; more particularly when from the same near
source we can get supplied with fish of much better quality and
less destructive tendencies. We allude to the fishes known in
the Murrumbidgee as the “golden perch” and “silver bream” ...
For the purposes of food and all other objects to be attained by
the stocking with good fish of our eastern rivers and fish-ponds
these fishes are infinitely superior to the cod, and their ova can
be obtained for transport with ease.
15
The Royal Commission recommended that a Fisheries Commission be established,
and a year later the Colonial Government obtained passage of the Fisheries Act
1881 providing for five Commissioners acting in an honorary capacity.
Carter has pointed out that:
The Fisheries Act 1881 was the first comprehensive legislation
in New South Wales dealing with fisheries. The Act set up a
body of five Commissioners to administer the Act and provided
for the regular supervision of the fisheries by inspectors.
Extensive regulation-making powers were vested in the
Governor. The Act dealt with fishing nets, closed seasons for
net fish, closed fisheries, fishermen’s and boat licences, prawn
fishing, torpedoes and dynamite, unmarketable (under-weight)
fish ... protection of certain fish and the territorial jurisdiction
of the Act.
16
Dissatisfaction among commercial fishers with the degree of Government
intervention in the industry following the implementation of the Fisheries Act 1881
led to another inquiry into the industry by a select committee of the Legislative
Assembly. The result was the Fisheries Act (Amendment Act) 1883 which reduced
the regulation of the industry.
Chapter One
Lorimer (1984), The Technology and Practices of the New South Wales Fishing
17
Industry, p 104
An Act for the Amendment of the “Fisheries Act 1881", the Promotion of Oyster
18
Culture and the Regulation of Oyster Fisheries 1884
Lorimer (1984), The Technology and Practices of the New South Wales Fishing
19
Industry, p 82
State Fisheries (1939). Report on the Fisheries of New South Wales for the Year
20
Ended 30th June 1938, NSW Legislative Assembly, Sydney, p 6
See NSW Fisheries (1997), Heritage and Conservation Register, p 24 and State
21
Fisheries (1939), Report on the Fisheries of New South Wales for the Year Ended
30th June 1938, p 6
8
The abundance of naturally occurring oysters was a significant aspect of fisheries
in New South Wales last century, with the NSW oyster industry supplying both
Sydney and Victorian demand from the 1850s to the 1870s. As with other
17
fisheries, over-exploitation came to affect the oyster industry and by the 1870s the
oyster beds were showing signs of exhaustion. In response, the Government
obtained passage of the Oyster Beds Act 1884 which limited foreshore leases to a
maximum length of 2,000 yards and lease terms to 15 years. However, by this time
overfishing and the worm polydora ciliata had all but destroyed the natural beds
which had been the mainstay of the industry. Subsequently oyster collectors
18
discovered that the foreshore or rock oyster was more resistant to the worm and
began to limit themselves to collecting naturally occurring rock oysters.
19
The first documented releases of trout into New South Wales waters occurred in
1888, although trout may have been released for sport by anglers as early as
1872. During 1888, 300 yearling brown trout were released in the Yass,
20
Braidwood and Monaro districts by Mr John Gale and Mr F Campbell of
Queanbeyan, and the NSW Fisheries Commission released around 2,000 brown
trout fry around Armidale and 300 yearling brown trout in the upper reaches of the
Shoalhaven River. All of these fish were sourced from Victoria and released for
recreational use. The first fish hatching in New South Wales occurred the following
year, with 5,000 brown trout eggs being incubated in Phillip Street, Sydney.
21
By this time, the commercial industry had explored most of the estuarine and near-
shore fishing grounds within NSW, with commercial activity stretching from Twofold
Bay in the south to the Clarence River in the north. Lorimer has provided the
following with regard to the relative importance of specific fishing grounds in 1888:
Background
Lorimer (1984), The Technology and Practices of the New South Wales Fishing
22
Industry, pp 95-96
Godden Mackay Consultants (1997), NSW Fisheries Heritage and Conservation
23
Register, pp 20-21
Godden Mackay Consultants (1997), NSW Fisheries Heritage and Conservation
24
Register, pp 20-21
Royal Commission on Fisheries 1894-5, pp 33, 35
25
T C Roughley (1961). Fish and Fisheries of Australia, Angus and Robertson,
26
Sydney, pp 282-283
9
The major supplier [to the Sydney market] was now the
Clarence River (15.62 per cent), followed by Port Stephens
(11.78 per cent), Botany Bay (11.27 per cent), Lake Illawarra
(9.44 per cent), Lake Macquarie (8.35 per cent), with another
14 areas supplying the remainder.
22
1.4 1889 to 1913: Creation of the Fisheries Board and Initial Fisheries
Research
In the late 1880s some within the commercial fishing industry were still unhappy with
what they believed to be an onerous degree of Government regulation and enlisted
the support of Frank Farnell MLA. Farnell criticised the Fisheries Commission in
Parliament “for want of practical knowledge, and the officers under them for their
administration of the Act”. Another Parliamentary select committee that included
23
Farnell among its membership was appointed. This committee reported in August
1889 that the Act was unnecessarily restrictive and operated harshly upon those in
the industry, recommending that the Fisheries Commission be abolished. A
24
second royal commission into the industry, conducted between 1894 and 1895, also
criticised the Fisheries Commission, concluding that the Commissioners “do not
seem to have given any attention to the development of the fisheries”, and
advocated the undertaking of further research activity. Despite these criticisms,
25
no further legislative action was taken until the turn of the century.
In 1894 the first documented capture of trout from New South Wales waters was
achieved by Mr R U B Rose, of Dalgety. In the same year rainbow trout were first
imported into New South Wales in the form of eggs from New Zealand and the
26
NSW Fisheries Commission built trout hatching troughs below Prospect Reservoir.
Chapter One
NSW Fisheries (1997), Heritage and Conservation Register, p 24
27
Fisheries Commissioners (1899). Fisheries of the Colony, Report of Commissioners
28
of Fisheries for Year 1898, NSW Legislative Assembly, p 8
10
The following year Prospect Hatchery was established. This was the State’s first
fish hatchery, with large scale releases of rainbow, brown, and loch leven (salmo
levenensis) trout commencing from 1898.
27
At this early stage in development of the recreational inland fishery, the Fisheries
Commissioners relied upon individuals with an interest in trout acclimatisation for
information in relation to the success of trout introductions into each area. The
Commissioners also encouraged catch-and-release practices for conservation
purposes. Referring to trout, the Commissioners report of 1899 stated:
Until these fish are thoroughly established the Commissioners
look to the local people to protect them.
Many fishing enthusiasts in the interior have supported us in
this respect by returning trout to the water when caught on
lines baited for other fish, and it is the desire of the
Commissioners that similar action should be taken in those
waters that are only sparingly supplied with this species of
fish.
28
The reasoning behind the large scale introduction of trout was given by the
Fisheries Commissioners in 1900:
To realise the efforts we are making to stock our rivers with
trout, it should be borne in mind that many of the waters in
which they are being liberated are devoid of edible fish life.
On the eastern slopes of our northern tablelands the only
edible inhabitants of the streams are eels, and on the western
slopes there are no fish except where cod have been
introduced from the rivers of the plain country.
Very much the same may be said of the streams of the western
and southern highlands. A food supply of great commercial
Background
Commissioners of Fisheries (1900). Fisheries of the Colony, Report of the
29
Commissioners of Fisheries for Year 1899, NSW Legislative Assembly, p 9
Kailola et al (1993), Australian Fisheries Resources, p 264 & p 267
30
Fisheries Commissioners (1899), Fisheries of the Colony, p 7
31
11
value is thus being introduced into the waters of these districts
where no food supply previously existed.
29
The commercial inland fishery began to be developed on the Murray-Darling system
in the mid to late 1800s, with golden perch and Murray cod being regularly supplied
to the Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide fish markets. Murray cod dominated early
catches, comprising 75 per cent of river fish available at the Melbourne Wholesale
Fish market in 1900. The sustainability of the fishery was questioned as early as
30
1899, with the Fisheries Commissioners requesting legislative action to ban the use
of traps which spanned the entire stream and therefore prevented free fish passage
up and down the river.
31
In 1898, in line with the recommendations of the second Royal Commission into the
fishing industry, the Colonial Government commissioned HMCS Thetis to undertake
trawling experiments off the New South Wales coast. These experiments, which
were carried out as far north as the Manning River and as far south as Jervis Bay,
met with some success.
In 1900 the demand for fish plummeted as a result of a serious fish-kill in Port
Jackson, thought to be a consequence of the use of chemicals in response to the
bubonic plague outbreak in Sydney. In response to this threat to the industry’s
viability, the Fisheries Commissioners closed Port Jackson to commercial fishing.
In addition, the See Government obtained passage of the Fisheries Act 1902, which:
... prescribed a Board consisting of a chairman (appointed by
the Governor for three years) and nine other members, one
required to be a licenced fisherman of five years’s standing
and an oyster lessee of equal experience... and six
representatives of the crown. The Board was given extensive
powers and responsibilities under the new chairman, Frank
Farnell, to supervise the industry, to carry out investigations
likely to be of service, and to ensure observance of regulations
Chapter One
Godden Mackay Consultants (1997), NSW Fisheries Heritage and Conservation
32
Register, pp 23-27
Godden Mackay Consultants (1997), NSW Fisheries Heritage and Conservation
33
Register, pp 26-29
NSW Fisheries (1997), Heritage and Conservation Register, pp 24-31
34
Dannevig contribution in W H Hall (1906). The Official Year Book of New South
35
Wales 1904-5, Government of New South Wales, p 757
12
regarding dimension of nets, closure of inland and tidal waters,
net-fishing etc.
32
The Government also engaged Harald Dannevig as NSW Superintendent of
Fisheries Investigations and Fish Hatcheries in 1902. Dannevig had been in charge
of the Aberdeen Marine Fish Hatchery, Scotland. David Stead, a naturalist, was
appointed as Scientific Assistant to Dannevig. Upon arrival Dannevig quickly
33
selected a site at Port Hacking in the vicinity of Cronulla for the construction of a
marine fish hatchery to replace a temporary facility on the southern shore of Port
Hacking near the village of Bundeena.
34
By 1905 a strong oyster industry based on farming had been established in New
South Wales.
Dannevig wrote:
A considerable proportion of the foreshores and shallow areas
of the river estuaries are most excellent natural oyster-beds,
where fine oysters are annually procured in large quantities.
These areas are leased from the Government by private
people, who through constant attention to the beds are able to
materially increase the natural yield; about 391,921 lineal
yards of foreshore are at present held in this manner, from
which the Government derives an annual revenue of about
,4,000. The wholesale value of the oysters taken is estimated
at about ,27,000 yearly, and in retail a similar additional
amount is approximately realised.
35
Background
NSW Fisheries (1997), Heritage and Conservation Register, pp 31-32
36
Roughley (1961), Fish and Fisheries of Australia, p 171
37
Godden Mackay Consultants (1997), NSW Fisheries Heritage and Conservation
38
Register, p 34
13
In 1906 construction of the Port Hacking fish hatchery was completed. A major aim
of the hatchery was the acclimatisation of fish from other parts of Australia, a task
in which the hatchery met with only limited success.
36
Meanwhile, the Federal Government decided to have a trawler built to explore the
Australian coast for possible trawling grounds. This boat was built at the NSW
Government shipyard at Newcastle and commissioned, in 1909, as HMAS
Endeavour. Harald Dannevig, who was by then the Commonwealth Director of
Fisheries, was appointed to lead the investigations and the first explorations were
undertaken around Shoalhaven Bight during the same year. T C Roughley has
written that:
The work of the Endeavour laid the foundation for commercial
trawling in Australian waters, for it demonstrated convincingly
that there were at least two areas, one along the south-eastern
Australian coast, the other in the Great Australian Bight, where
fish of good edible quality existed in quantities comparable
with the best of the grounds in the northern hemisphere.
37
In 1910, the Wade State Government introduced the Fisheries (Amendment) Act
1910. According to Godden and Mackay the new legislation:
... amended the 1902 Act by establishing the principle of
Ministerial administration and the former Board of Fisheries
became the Fisheries Branch of the Chief Secretary’s
Department. The amended Act ‘contemplated’ the
appointment of a Chief Inspector of Fisheries and an Advisory
Board consisting of no more than five persons to advise the
Minister, who was charged with the control and regulation of
the sale of fish and oysters, whether produced in the state or
imported. The amendment was not implemented until early in
1911 when it was ‘not deemed necessary to... appoint... an
Advisory Board as experience has shown that such a board is
not so far necessary’.
38
Chapter One
NSW Parliament (1911). Royal Commission on Food Supplies and Prices 1911-
39
1912, Report, NSW Government, Sydney, p 27
Lorimer (1984), The Technology and Practices of the New South Wales Fishing
40
Industry, table 6
Lorimer (1984), The Technology and Practices of the New South Wales Fishing
41
Industry, pp 48-52
Lorimer (1984), The Technology and Practices of the New South Wales Fishing
42
Industry, pp 48-52
14
Despite its geographical expansion late last century, the fishing industry was still
carried out on a small-scale basis. The 1911 Royal Commission on Food Supplies
and Prices noted “a lack of organisation along commercial lines” with the supply of
fish to the Sydney market being largely dependent on fishers working individually
or in groups of two or three. The Royal Commission also noted that fishers had
relatively little capital invested in the industry and earned relatively low incomes.
39
Despite the relatively low earnings from fishing, there was a marked increase in the
number of commercial fishers in New South Wales between 1901 and 1913, when
there were 706 and 2,220 fishers respectively. By 1929 the number of commercial
fishers in New South Wales had declined marginally to 2008.
40
1.5 1914 to 1930: Widespread Use of Motorised Fishing Vessels and the
Establishment of Government Fishing Operations
NSW commercial fishers began using motorised boats during the early 1900s
following the introduction of steam and petrol powered boats in Britain in the 1880s.
While steam engines could effectively power large trawlers, they proved to be
unsatisfactory for smaller boats, requiring constant attention and taking up a large
proportion of the hull. This led the generally small-scale New South Wales
commercial fishing industry to use small, petrol powered boats suitable for teams of
two or three.
41
The first sectors of the industry to use motorised boats were the offshore crayfishing
and snapper fleets, allowing fishers to reach the limit of their fishing grounds and
return in one day. The mechanisation of estuary-based fleets took place over a
longer period due to the lower economic return attached to this activity.
42
Background
NSW Parliament (1911), Royal Commission on Food Supplies and Prices 1911-
43
1912, pp 27-28
Lorimer (1984), The Technology and Practices of the New South Wales Fishing
44
Industry, pp 72-74
Lorimer (1984), The Technology and Practices of the New South Wales Fishing
45
Industry, pp 72, 115
Lorimer (1984), The Technology and Practices of the New South Wales Fishing
46
Industry, p 97
1916 Official Year Book of New South Wales, p 1185
47
15
Prior to the First World War, estuary-based fishing dominated the NSW catch, with
less than 10 per cent of the Sydney fish supply coming from off-shore fisheries in
1912. In 1914 the Holman Government decided to set up a publicly-owned
43
company called the State Trawling Industry to encourage the development of off-
shore fishing and to supply Sydney and Newcastle with large quantities of cheap
fish. David Stead was sent to Great Britain to examine steam trawling methods and
acquire the necessary ships and crews. Three such ships arrived in April and May
1915. Trawling operations began in June of the same year, landing large quantities
of fish. In 1916 the Government decided to expand its fishing operations and placed
an order for three more trawlers with the State Dockyard in Newcastle. The
44
Government also established an integrated fishing and marketing system, with the
new company opening four retail outlets in Sydney by 1916. By 1922 this network
had grown to 20 outlets, 14 of which were in the Sydney area.
45
In terms of impact on the market, these trawlers were noticeably successful. Lorimer
has remarked that “Quite rapidly the trawlers captured almost fifty per cent of the
Sydney market”. By 1919 new coastal depots had been opened by the State
46
Trawling Industry for receiving, cleaning and distributing the trawler catch on the
Clarence River, at Port Stephens, at Newcastle, at Eden and on the St Georges
Basin.
The tourism benefits of recreational fishing were also beginning to be recognised
around this time. The 1916 Official Year Book of New South Wales noted:
Trout fishing now constitutes an important attraction for tourists
and sportsmen in the districts watered by the Murrumbidgee
and Snowy Rivers and their tributaries.
47
Chapter One
Godden Mackay Consultants (1997), NSW Fisheries Heritage and Conservation
48
Register, pp 31-36
Lorimer (1984), The Technology and Practices of the New South Wales Fishing
49
Industry, p 74
Lorimer (1984), The Technology and Practices of the New South Wales Fishing
50
Industry, pp 74-75
State Fisheries (1939), Report on the Fisheries of New South Wales for the Year
51
Ended 30th June 1938, NSW Legislative Assembly, Sydney, p 7
Lorimer (1984), The Technology and Practices of the New South Wales Fishing
52
Industry, p 75
16
While off-shore commercial fishing and recreational angling grew rapidly during
World War One, fisheries research in New South Wales suffered a significant
setback during the same period with the closure of the Port Hacking fish hatchery
for the duration of the war.
48
By 1920, in the face of consistently large financial losses arising from State Trawling
Industry operations, the Storey Government replaced David Stead with a Mr
Summer-Greene as Manager. Lorimer notes that, “Summer-Greene... began a
major cost-cutting program, starting by closing most of the coastal depots and
gradually reducing the number of retail shops”.
49
In 1923 the Fuller Government decided to sell off the operation which had a running
loss of over £180,000. The steam trawlers were eventually sold to private
50
companies.
In 1928, trout releases in New South Wales exceeded one million for the first time.
51
By 1930 the NSW trawling industry was concentrated into three main companies,
namely: Coastal Trawling Limited, which was soon joined in a merger with Red
Funnel Trawlers; Cam and Sons, formed by the Italian C Caminetti who had
imported a number of trawlers from Italy; and A A Murrell, who began in 1926 with
an English trawler, acquiring a second in 1929 and more in 1930.
52
1.6 1931 to 1945: Conservation Concerns and Further Technological
Innovation
Background
Sloane, Cook and Company (1978), The Demersal Fishing Industry in New South
53
Wales, vol II, Report prepared for NSW Fisheries on behalf of the NSW Department
of Public Works, Sloane, Cook and Company, Sydney, p 4
Second Reading Speech, Fisheries and Oyster Farms Bill 1935. NSW Parliamentary
54
Debates, Legislative Assembly, 19 September 1935, Sydney, pp 209-213
Sydney Morning Herald, 3 October 1935, p 15
55
Roughley (1961), Fish and Fisheries of Australia, p 283
56
NSW Parliament (1953), Parliamentary Committee on Fish Marketing 1953, NSW
57
Government, Sydney, p 6
17
In delivering large quantities of fish to the State’s markets, steam trawlers had a
marked impact on tiger flathead stocks. Sloane, Cook and Company have
observed that, despite the high catches during the 1920s (towards 4,000 tonnes in
some years), “Catches fell rapidly and progressively after 1931 ... resulting in the
voluntary restriction of the fleet to 13 boats (down from a maximum of 17) in 1935.”
53
In 1934 the Stevens Government decided to repeal the existing fisheries legislation
and replace it with what became the Fisheries and Oyster Farms Act 1935. In
introducing the new bill, the Colonial Secretary, Frank Chaffey, noted:
Right throughout the history of fisheries in this state the
revenues derived have, in some years, been many thousands
of pounds short of the expenditure... in the majority of cases
there will be increases on what is being paid at the present
time.
54
A few weeks later, Chaffey informed Parliament that the proposed “licence fee varies
according to size from 5s. to £25. The object is to secure revenue from owners of
large vessels of 100 tons or more.”
55
In 1935 control of trout streams and the supervision of hatcheries was transferred
to Acclimatisation Societies. The Department did not regain control over these
activities until 1959.
56
In 1936 a new form of trawling, Danish seining, was introduced into New South
Wales. This technique eventually became the dominant trawling method. Danish
seining was carried out by vessels up to 80ft in length in ocean waters generally
shallower than those fished by steam trawlers (between 55 and 75 metres). The
57
Chapter One
NSW State Fisheries and NSW Fish Marketing Authority (1979). Fisheries and Fish
58
Marketing in NSW, NSW Fish Marketing Authority, Sydney, p 11
T W Houston (August 1955). “The New South Wales Trawl Fishery: Review of Past
59
Course and Examination of Present Condition” in the Australian Journal of Marine
and Fresh Water Research, vol 6, no 2, p 166
Godden Mackay Consultants (1997), NSW Fisheries Heritage and Conservation
60
Register, pp 38-39
18
technique involves the use of a net secured to the boat by a long rope at each end
and the following procedure: One of the ropes is attached to a buoy and thrown
overboard; The boat then turns to form a large loop with the net at the far end; The
boat then moves ahead with the action of the ropes in the water guiding the fish into
the net; When the ropes and the net have almost been drawn together by the fish
enclosed, the net is hauled on board. According to T W Houston, from the late
58
1930s onwards:
... seiners commenced working along the New South Wales
coast... and the annual total catch... reached a peak in the
financial year 1938-39. Normal fishing operations were
curtailed in 1939, and in 1940 most of the fishing vessels were
taken over for wartime duties. Production decreased as a
consequence and it was not until 1944-45, when the fleet was
being rehabilitated, that the annual total catch showed signs of
improvement. The trend of rising catch culminated in 1946-47
with the third and highest peak of production... The... seiners,
working mainly from the ports of Newcastle, Sydney,
Wollongong, Ulladulla, and Eden, mostly fish[ed] the grounds
close to their home ports but occasionally move[d] up and
down the coast according to reports of availability of fish.
59
In 1937 the Commonwealth’s Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)
proposed using the Port Hacking fish hatchery site as a centre for its fisheries
research. At that time, the NSW Fisheries Division had only recently resumed
significant research at the hatchery. Nevertheless, the following year the site was
transferred to the Commonwealth on condition that it also house the NSW Fish
Biology Branch and allow occasional use by students of the University of Sydney.
60
In 1941 the McKell Government decided to take an interventionist approach to the
commercial fishing industry, obtaining passage of the Fisheries and Oyster Farms
Background
NSW Parliament (1953), Parliamentary Committee on Fish Marketing 1953, p 5
61
NSW Parliament (1953), Parliamentary Committee on Fish Marketing 1953, p 5
62
P Williamson (1984). Growth and Management of the New South Wales Demersal
63
Fisheries, M Ec Thesis, University of Sydney, p 27
NSW Parliament (1953), Parliamentary Committee on Fish Marketing 1953, p 6
64
V C F Han (1962). “The Australian Fishery for Morwong”, Fisheries Management
65
Seminar Papers, Sydney, Fisheries Division, Department of Primary Industry,
Canberra, pp 41-45
19
(Amendment) Act 1942 the next year. As the 1953 NSW Parliamentary Committee
on Fish Marketing commented, this Act altered the 1935 Act:
to make provision for the constitution of fish districts and to
require all fish sold for human consumption to be first brought
to and sold in the markets established in such districts. It also
provided, inter alia, for the cancellation of agents’ licences and
the conduct of markets by the Chief Secretary as a corporation
sole.
61
Two years later the then Prime Minister, John Curtin, requested the support of the
McKell Government “in the organisation of the fishing industry on a co-operative
basis for the purpose of rationalising the marketing and distribution of fish”. The bill
introduced by the McKell Government to implement this was rejected in the
Legislative Council. In response the McKell Government in 1945 invoked “the
provisions of the 1942 legislation... and control of the Sydney Fish Market was
assumed by the Chief Secretary as a corporation sole.”
62
Due to its lower capital cost and use of smaller, less powerful boats, Danish seining
was actively promoted by the Government during and shortly after World War Two
in the hope that it would lead to an expansion of the industry and open up new
fishing grounds. A New South Wales Parliamentary committee, established in
63
1953 to inquire into fish marketing, reported that the main Danish seining activity at
that time occurred from Port Stephens in the north to Eden in the south. The
64
introduction of seine trawling was significant for it eventually was responsible for
expanding the catch of certain species and opening up new fishing grounds,
particularly ocean prawning.
65
Chapter One
Sloane, Cook and Company (1978), The Demersal Fishing Industry in New South
66
Wales, vol I, p 24
J Glaister (1996). Review of Fisheries Consultation in New South Wales, NSW
67
Fisheries, Sydney, p 41
NSW Parliament (1953), Parliamentary Committee on Fish Marketing 1953, p 8
68
20
1.7 1946 to 1979: Establishment of Fish Cooperatives and Stricter
Licensing Requirements
Following World War Two the Federal Government renewed its efforts in the area
of fisheries research aimed at developing new fisheries. For example, in 1957 the
Commonwealth Government funded a prawn survey off the east coast by the trawler
Challenge. The success of the survey resulted in large numbers of boats
commencing commercial operations from NSW ports.
66
From 1946 the Commonwealth Government began establishing fishermen’s
cooperatives in all states as part of the post World War Two reconstruction
programme. Thirteen were subsequently formed up and down the NSW coast as
67
follows:
TABLE 1.1
68
Formation of Fishermens Co-operative Societies
FISHERMEN’S CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETIES YEAR OF FORMATION
Clarence River 1946
Macleay River 1946
Laurieton 1946
Byron Bay 1947
Bermagui 1947
Hastings River 1947
Nambucca River 1947
Wallis Lake 1947
Evans Head 1947
Background
FISHERMEN’S CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETIES YEAR OF FORMATION
Sloane Cook and Company (1978), The Demersal Fishing Industry of New South
69
Wales, vol I, p 37
NSW Fish Marketing Authority (1971). Fish Marketing in New South Wales:
70
Historical Summary, NSW Fish Marketing Authority, Sydney, p 2
Meryl Williams and Phillip Stewart, “Australia’s Fisheries” in Patricia Kailola (ed)
71
1993, Australian Fisheries Resources, Bureau of Resource Science, Department of
Primary Industries and Energy, Canberra, pp 15-16. Gerard Carter has remarked
that “the Fisheries Act 1952... relies on section 51 (x) of the Commonwealth
Constitution, which confers power on the Commonwealth Parliament to make laws
21
Eden 1947
Newcastle 1947
Nowra 1947
Richmond River 1948
Other co-operatives were later established at Wooli, Coffs Harbour, Crowdy Head,
Port Stephens, Mannering Park, Tuggerah, Hawkesbury River, Wollongong, Lake
Illawarra, Greenwell Point and Ulladulla.
69
In 1949 the McGirr Government obtained passage of the Co-operation (Amendment)
Act 1949 which provided for:
The granting of approval by the Governor, subject to certain
conditions, to co-operative trading societies to establish,
operate and control fish markets... The establishment of
advisory committees to make recommendations to the Minister
in relation to the promotion, etc of co-operatives of particular
types...
70
In the early 1950s the Commonwealth Government sought to assert greater
authority over the number of fishing boats operating in its territorial waters with the
Menzies Government obtaining passage of the Fisheries Act 1952. This Act was the
first comprehensive Federal fisheries act and provided for Commonwealth licensing
and regulation of Australian fishing boats operating between 3 miles and 200 miles
offshore. The states retained control over fishing in their territorial seas out to 3
miles.
71
Chapter One
with respect to ‘Fisheries in Australian waters beyond territorial limits.” See Gerard
Carter 1986, Fisheries Law in New South Wales, NSW Department of Agriculture,
Sydney, p 43
NSW Parliament (1953), NSW Parliamentary Committee on Fish Marketing 1953,
72
p 12
NSW Fisheries (1997). A Freshwater Recreational Fishing Fee?, Discussion Paper,
73
p 1
Roughley (1961), Fish and Fisheries of Australia, p 284
74
NSW Parliament (1953), NSW Parliamentary Committee on Fish Marketing 1953,
75
p 6; and NSW State Fisheries and NSW Fish Marketing Authority (1979), Fisheries
and Fish Marketing in NSW, p 21
22
Preservation of NSW fish stocks continued to be a problem throughout the 1940s
and 1950s. A 1953 NSW Parliamentary committee reported that a degree of
oversight and control over the operations of fishers and the prevention of the sale
of undersized fish was necessary to protect stocks and fishing grounds.
72
In 1958 a general NSW freshwater angling license was established, replacing the
existing trout angling fee paid to the acclimatisation societies. These licenses cost
73
£1 per annum, with 49,350 being issued during 1958-59.
74
In 1961 what is now the Narrandera Fisheries Centre was opened to conduct inland
fisheries research.
In the same year the last remaining steam trawler ceased operations following
continued overfishing of flathead. This represented a rapid decline of the method,
with the major steam trawling companies, Red Funnel and Cam and Sons, having
collectively owned around ten steam trawlers during the early 1950s harvesting
about 30 per cent of the NSW catch (around 2,800 tonnes).
75
In 1963, following long-running negotiations between commercial fishers and the
New South Wales Government, the Heffron Government established the New South
Wales Fish Authority and obtained passage of the Fisheries and Oyster Farms
(Amendment) Act 1963. This Act conferred on the Authority the conduct and
management of Fish Markets previously maintained by the Chief Secretary from 18
Background
NSW Fish Marketing Authority (1971), Fish Marketing in New South Wales:
76
Historical Summary, p 5
Kailola et al (1993), Australian Fisheries Resources, p 62
77
SCP Consultants (1996). Some Background Data on the South-Eastern Australian
78
Fisheries, unpublished report, p 3
Pownall (1979), Fisheries of Australia, p 111
79
23
April 1964. In 1966 the Fish Authority relocated the main Sydney market to a new,
76
larger (6-acre) site at Pyrmont.
In 1968 the Commonwealth extended Australia’s declared fishing zone to 12 nautical
miles from the coast, allowing the Commonwealth to regulate foreign boats within
this zone. The Continental Shelf (Living Natural Resources) Act also came into force
in 1968, extending Australia’s jurisdiction to the edge of the continental shelf for
sedentary marine species such as pearl oysters.
77
Over-exploitation of New South Wales’ existing fishing grounds intensified during
the 1960s. Peter Sloane has noted that, “By the late 1960s many of the grounds on
the continental shelf were being heavily exploited and catches were static or
falling”.
78
In response to declining catches, the Askin Government intensified fishing research
effort by building and equipping the 82-ft (25m) fisheries research vessel Kapala to
undertake intensive marine resources surveys. The Kapala began operations in
1970 and was fitted with modern electronic fish-finding navigational aids and
catching gear.
79
The Fish Marketing Authority later described the significance of the Kapala’s
contribution to the development of new fishing grounds as follows:
commercial stocks of gemfish and ... other deep-water fish ...
were proven during the early 1970s by the ... Kapala. As the
results of Kapala’s exploratory fishing were made available to
commercial trawl fishermen, they shifted their efforts from the
more inshore fisheries to the newer waters... What has been
happening is an important shift of fishing effort to deeper
waters, accompanied by a change in the composition - rather
than the size - of the total ocean waters catch sent to market...
Chapter One
NSW Fish Marketing Authority (1971), Fish Marketing in New South Wales:
80
Historical Summary, pp 8-9
Sloane Cook and Company (1978). The Demersal Fishing Industry in New South
81
Wales, vol II, p 31
Sloane Cook and Company (1978), The Demersal Fishing Industry of New South
82
Wales, vol II, pp 15-18
24
By... 1976-7 the gemfish catch had grown 185 per cent in a
year to 2,109,000 kilograms and was the single largest
component of the trawl fish sent to market.
80
The growth of the gemfish catch is illustrated in the table below.
TABLE 1.2
81
Gemfish Catch in NSW: 1970s
YEAR TONNES
1971-1972 83 tonnes
1972-1973 90 tonnes
1973-1974 555 tonnes
1974-1975 649 tonnes
1975-1976 739 tonnes
1976-1977 2,109 tonnes
Another significant species of fish identified by the Kapala as amenable to mid-water
trawling was the redfish, which grew from 94 tonnes landed in 1966-1967 to 1,421
tonnes in 1976-1977.
82
Background
NSW Parliament (1953), NSW Parliamentary Committee on Fish Marketing 1953,
83
p 5; Williamson (1984), Growth and Management of the New South Wales
Demersal Fisheries, p 28
NSW Fisheries (1997), Heritage and Conservation Register, p 21
84
Godden Mackay Consultants (1997), NSW Fisheries Heritage and Conservation
85
Register, p 53
Kailola et al (1993), Australian Fisheries Resources, p 16
86
25
In 1972 the number of Danish seine trawlers operating in NSW waters peaked at
48. Danish seining then rapidly declined with the advent of otter trawling, when
83
many Danish seiners were converted to the new method. The principal advantage
84
of the new method was that light otter trawl gear could be used by small diesel-
powered vessels.
In 1972 the Brackish Water Fish Culture Research Station, now the Port Stephens
Research Centre, was opened. The Station initially focussed on prawn aquaculture
but shifted its emphasis to oyster research later in the decade.
In January 1975 the Askin Government removed the administration of the Act from
the Chief Secretary’s Department to the Minister for Lands and Forests. In 1976 the
Wran Government established NSW State Fisheries as a separate department
under the Minister for Conservation.
85
1979 was a significant year for both National and State fisheries management with
the Commonwealth’s declaration of the Australian Fishing Zone and significant
amendments to the State’s fisheries legislation. The declaration assumed sovereign
rights over living resources within 200 nautical miles of the coast in anticipation of
the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea .
86
When the Wran Government introduced the bill for what was to become the
Fisheries and Oyster Farms (Amendment) Act 1979, Lin Gordon, the Minister for
Water Resources and Conservation, declared that the new legislation would:
... amend section 25 of the [1935] Act by rearranging... the
provisions relating to the licensing of professional fishermen...
Many persons who are not genuine commercial fishermen
have been granted licences in the past to the disadvantage of
the full-time bona-fide commercial fishermen... in the general
Chapter One
Second Reading Speech. Fisheries and Oyster Farms (Amendment) Bill 1979. NSW
87
Parliamentary Debates, Legislative Assembly, 28 February 1979, pp 2584-2585
Carter (1986), Fisheries Law in New South Wales, p 110
88
Geoffrey Waugh (1984). Fisheries Management: Theoretical Developments and
89
Contemporary Applications, Westview Press, Boulder, Colerado, p 192 citing Donald
Francois (1980), “The New South Wales Abalone Fishery”, paper presented to the
Seminar on Economic Aspects of Limited Entry and Associated Fisheries
Management Measures, Melbourne
NSW State Fisheries and NSW Fish Marketing Authority (1979), Fisheries and Fish
90
Marketing in NSW, p 51
26
interests of the industry, it would appear to be necessary to
clamp down on the part-time... fisherman, who wishes to fish
only during the lucrative prawn and crayfish seasons...
Consequently section 25 of the Act is to be amended to
provide that a fisherman’s licence shall not be issued to a
person... unless he proposes to derive the major part of his
income from... the taking and sale of fish...
87
Prior to this, commercial fishing in New South Wales had been open-access. While
this new legislation laid the basis for the future introduction of fundamental changes
in the operation of commercial fishing in the State , the Wran Government remained
88
generally in favour of open access. The then Director of NSW Fisheries, Donald
Francois, commented in 1980 that “We think... natural forces ... operating in... [a]
free enterprise system” were the appropriate basis for commercial fishing in New
South Wales, rather than “government intervention.”
89
The Fisheries and Oyster Farms (Amendment) Act 1979 also transformed the NSW
Fish Authority into the Fish Marketing Authority and required the sale of all fish sent
to the Sydney Metropolitan area to be conducted through the Sydney Fish Market
in order to prevent private sales undermining the Authority’s new auction system.
90
1.8 1980 to 1988: The Expansion of Deep Sea Trawling and the
Inauguration of the South East Trawl Fishery
In the few years leading up to 1980 New South Wales fishers expanded their
operations to deeper waters at the edge of the continental shelf to exploit mid-water
Background
SCP consultants (1996), Some Background Data on South-Eastern Australian
91
Fisheries, p 7, citing Bureau of Agricultural Economics (1982), Survey Results of the
South East Trawl Fishery 1978-79 - 1980-81, Bureau of Agricultural Economics,
Canberra
SCP Consultants (1996), Some Background Data on South-Eastern Australian
92
Fisheries, pp 3-4
27
stocks such as gemfish, mirror dory, ling and ocean perch. By the early 1980s,
deep water catches accounted for the majority of total trawl landings.
91
New methods and gear were required to take advantage of these new fisheries.
According to Sloane:
The industry dealt with the problem of changing fishing
techniques in two ways. At first, during the mid- to late 1970s,
existing boats were refitted with new gear, particularly net
drums and stern gantries... in the early to mid-1980s
profitability in the industry was high. Commercial operators
were willing and able to invest in new specially designed larger
boats, with more powerful engines. They incorporated better
on-board handling facilities, such as refrigerated seawater
(RSW) tanks, for the larger catches being landed.
92
Other technological innovations which came into widespread use during this period
were the echo sounder and satellite navigation (which allowed vessels to go closer
to reefs).
In 1980 the NSW Minister for Fisheries, by an order published in the Government
Gazette under the newly introduced section 22A of the Fisheries and Oyster Farms
(Amendment) Act 1979, declared the abalone fishery to be the State’s first restricted
fishery.
The process has been described by Geoffrey Waugh, fisheries economist, as
follows:
The introduction of the licence limitation scheme in 1980 by
the New South Wales State Fisheries had as its object the
restriction of effort to protect the stock and at the same time
maintain ‘reasonable incomes’ to the fishermen... Under the
scheme... the required number of divers was estimated by
Chapter One
Waugh (1984), Fisheries Management: Theoretical Developments and Contemporary
93
Applications, pp 215-216
SCP Fisheries Consultants (1991), Fishing Industry Review: Report to the NSW
94
Department of Public Works, SCP Fisheries Consultants, Sydney, p 1 and B C Pease
and A Grinberg (1995), New South Wales Commercial Fisheries Statistics 1950-
1992, NSW Fisheries, Sydney, p 24
28
calculating the number of divers which current annual
production rates could support at the income considered fair
or reasonable as determined by... [an] economic survey... At
an income of $24,750 this was equivalent to 22 divers on the
basis of the value of the catch in 1977-78 and 30 divers on the
basis of value of the catch in 1976-77. The goal for the State
Fisheries was to reduce the number of divers (which was 131
full-time and part-time divers in 1977-78) towards this level, but
at the same time ensure that the allocation of permits to dive
for abalone... [were] granted on an equitable basis. A set of
four criteria were determined in negotiations between State
Fisheries and the United Abalone Divers’ Association to act as
the basis for the allocation of permits. Under the agreement
reached, a successful applicant... [had to] fulfil the following
criteria: Three years active fishing in the fishery... An
allowance to be made for longevity of a diver’s activity in the
fishery... an allowance to be made for fishermen who do not
satisfy criteria owing to illness... An allowance to be made for
aborigines who have been engaged in taking abalone... Under
these conditions 59 licences were issued ... All other divers
were issued notices to immediately cease activities in the
abalone fishery.
93
In 1981 the Fraser Government announced that new facilities for the marine
laboratories (of what had become the Commonwealth Scientific, Industrial and
Research Organisation) would be built at Hobart. In late 1984, just prior to the
completion of CSIRO’s new Hobart facilities, the Port Hacking research site was
transferred back to the NSW Government. State marine fisheries research
continued at Port Hacking assisted by the Fisheries Research Vessel Kapala.
By 1981/82, NSW fish landings had peaked at 28,000 tonnes. Although there was
a sudden decline to 22,400 tonnes in 1983/84, finfish landings remained fairly stable
at around 25,000 tonnes until the early 1990s.
94
Background
SCP Fisheries Consultants (1991), Fishing Industry Review, Report to the NSW
95
Department of Public Works, p 1
A Caton, K McLoughlin and M J Williams (1990), Southern Bluefin Tuna: The
96
Scientific Background to the Debate, Bureau of Resource Sciences, Department of
Primary Industry, Canberra, pp 12-13
K R Rowling (1994), “Gemfish” in Richard Tilzey (ed), The South East Fishery: A
97
Scientific Review with Particular Reference to Quota Management, Bureau of
Resource Sciences, Department of Primary Industries and Energy, Canberra, p 118
Tilzey (1994), Introduction, The South East Fishery: A Scientific Review with
98
particular reference to Quota Management, p 18
Williamson (1984), Growth and Management of the New South Wales Demersal
99
Fisheries, p 92
29
Despite this catch stability, by the mid 1980s there were signs of over exploitation
of specific stocks, particularly gemfish and southern bluefin tuna. The NSW tuna
95
catch declined from 3,267 tonnes in 1981-1982 to 899 tonnes in 1983-1984 , while
96
the NSW gemfish catch fell from 5,059 tonnes in 1980 to 2,800 tonnes in 1984.
97
Concerns in the early 1980s over indications of declining fish stocks in the seas off
New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania led the Federal Minister for Primary
Industry, Peter Nixon, to declare in July 1981 that it was “vital that fishing be
maintained within safe levels”. He also announced that the Federal and State
governments were considering a proposal to limit the fishing fleet “in waters
extending from northern New South Wales into eastern Bass Strait”.
98
In October 1981 representatives of the four states involved (NSW, Victoria,
Tasmania and South Australia) and the Federal Government - termed, collectively,
the South Eastern Fisheries Committee - issued a report on options for the future
management of the fishery.
In 1982 the Wran State Government increased the fee for a fisherman’s licence from
$2 per annum to $100 per annum in an effort to retain in the industry only those who
were committed to earning their living through fishing.
99
The following year the Wran Government abolished fisheries as a separate
department and re-established it as the Division of Fisheries within the Department
of Agriculture.
Chapter One
Pease and Grinberg (1995), New South Wales Commercial Fisheries Statistics 1950-
100
1992, p 13
K R Rowling, “Gemfish” in Tilzey (ed) (1994), The South East Fishery: A Scientific
101
Review With Particular Reference to Quota Management, p 117
30
In January 1984 the Federal Minister for Primary Industry, John Kerin, issued a draft
management plan for what was termed the South East Trawl Fishery. The plan
divided the fishery into Traditional and Developing Zones, put forward a limitation
on the number of boats that could operate in the Traditional Zone, and proposed
controlled entry for the Developing Zone. The fishing industry, through the
Australian Fisheries Council, subsequently notified the Hawke Government of their
general approval of the plan.
In June 1985 the Hawke Government introduced the scheme, inaugurating the
South East Trawl Fishery (SETF). The following year a South East Trawl
Management Advisory Committee was established in order to facilitate consultation
between the commercial fishing industry, administrators and scientists.
In the same year the Wran Government introduced a moratorium on the issuing of
all new commercial fishing boat licences.
100
1.9 1988 to 1994: Departmental Upheaval and Introduction of the
Fisheries Management Act 1994
In 1988 inland recreational angling licenses were abolished following the election
of the Greiner Government.
In the same year the Hawke Government, in response to the marked decline in the
gemfish catch, introduced a SETF total allowable gemfish catch of 3,000 tonnes.
101
This was the first Total Allowable Catch (TAC) set in Australia.
In 1989 the structure of the State’s fisheries administration was again disturbed with
the proposal to relocate the Department of Agriculture, including the Division of
Fisheries, to Orange by 1991. The relocation of the Department of Agriculture
eventually went ahead without the Division of Fisheries, which was re-established
Background
Godden Mackay Consultants (1997), NSW Fisheries Heritage and Conservation
102
Register, p 43
Tony Battaglene, Debbie Brown, Drew Collins, Padma Lal, Paul Morris, Patrick
103
Power, Chris Reid, Heather Roper, Michelle Scoccimarro, Michael Stephens, Jeremy
Witham and Doug Young (1993), Use of Economic Instruments in Coastal Zone
Management, Resource Assessment Commission, Canberra, p 46
Second Reading Speech. Fisheries and Oyster Farms (Management Plans) Bill
104
1992. NSW Parliamentary Debates, Legislative Assembly, 24 November 1992, p
9790
31
as a separate agency, renamed NSW Fisheries, and placed under the new Ministry
of Natural Resources.
102
In 1989, a committee was formed of Federal and state fisheries directors in order to
produce recommendations for the future management of the South East Trawl
Fishery. The Resource Assessment Commission wrote that:
This committee reported in December 1989 and recommended
that a system of individual transferable quotas be introduced.
The Minister for Primary Industries and Energy announced in
1990... an individual transferable quota system based on
quantity for the fishery...
103
On the basis of the committee’s report, the Hawke Government subsequently
obtained passage of the Fisheries Management Act 1991. Under this legislation the
Federal Government established the Australian Fisheries Management Authority
(AFMA) which then assumed control of fisheries management in Commonwealth
waters on behalf of the Federal Government.
Using the New Zealand Government’s fishing policy as an example, the Greiner
Government also set out to introduce substantial changes in the NSW fishing
industry by granting commercial fishers tradable fishing rights. As the Minister for
Natural Resources in the succeeding Fahey Government, Ian Causley, informed
Parliament in late 1992, “a fishing right”, in the legislation that the Fahey
Government hoped to introduce, “would be for a fixed quantity or fixed proportion of
an allowable catch”.
104
The Greiner Government also set out to hand back to the industry the responsibility
for managing and regulating fish marketing in New South Wales. In March 1992 the
then Premier, Nick Greiner, and the then Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries, Ian
Chapter One
NSW Fish Marketing Authority (1994), Annual Report 1992-1993, p 22
105
Source: NSW Fisheries
106
32
Causley, announced that “the Government and the industry will work together
towards the aim of the... fishing industry - managing the markets and taking over
from the government the regulation of fish marketing in New South Wales”.
105
In 1994 the Fahey Government obtained passage of the Fisheries Management Act
1994 with the aim of balancing fisheries exploitation with resource sustainability (see
Chapter three).
The constant upheaval in the NSW commercial fishing industry and State
Government restrictions on entry since the early 1980s have served to significantly
reduce the number of licensed fishers working in New South Wales. In 1983-1984
there were 3,259 fishing licences held in NSW. By 1997, the number of licences
had fallen to 1,835.
106
Background
33
