Tuna Conservation Will ‘Sink Industry’ff

Source: The Australian



Tuna baron Hagen Stehr says Canberra’s decision to list southern bluefin as “conservation-dependent” may damage the local tuna industry.

The listing does not restrict fishing, but creates a legal requirement for the industry to be subject to a conservation management and recovery plan.

Dr. Stehr, whose company Clean Seas became the first to breed southern bluefin tuna onshore, told The Australian the Port Lincoln-based industry had been forced to cut its quota by 20 per cent this year, and 20 per cent next year.

“It’s absolutely outrageous what the federal government has done,” Dr. Stehr said. “If we’re not careful the government is going to wreck the entire industry.”

The southern bluefin tuna industry is based off the Great Australian Bight, and has an annual quota of 4015 tons. That quota was reduced from 5000 tons in late October.

Sustainability Minister Tony Burke listed the fish as conservation-dependent on Wednesday -- one step away from an endangered listing.

“The species has declined in the past, and while ongoing improvements in management measures are helping to stabilize the population, the breeding population is still considered to be less than 8 per cent of unfished levels,” Mr. Burke said.

The minister will now have to issue an environmental clearance before allowing the fish to be exported, to ensure stocks are sustainable. However, he is unlikely to refuse a clearance. Mr. Burke said the management plan would include research and development to ensure long-term recovery and sustainability.

David Ellis, from the Tuna Boat Owners Association, was concerned Mr. Burke had listed the species based on stock data compiled in 2006. “A lot of the information we have here is that they did get it wrong,” Mr. Ellis said. “At the 2011 meeting we hope to have more scientific information that will increase our understanding of the fishery.”

Tony’s Tuna general manager Andrew Wilkinson said CSIRO aerial surveys and other studies had shown spawning stock was up to four times higher than the data used in the government’s modeling.