A comprehensive new Management Framework and Associated Harvest Strategy for the Offshore Net and Line Fishery (ONLF) came into effect today.

The new arrangements have been developed in accord with contemporary, nationally-accepted management practices to provide incentives to harvest catch in a more efficient manner, and encourage a greater spread of effort across the fishery.

Department of Primary Industry and Resources Senior Aquatic Resource Manager David Mckey said the department’s Fisheries division had worked closely with the Offshore Net and Line Fishery Advisory Group, the Northern Territory Seafood Council, and environment groups including the World Wide Fund for Nature and the Australian Marine Conservation Society to develop a comprehensive framework and strategy to enhance the community’s confidence in the NT ONLF.

“The ONLF faces challenging times with increasing scrutiny on environmental, research, management and operational aspects,” Mr Mckey said.

“Commercial licence holders have strongly supported a number of measures that will increase operational transparency in order to enhance the community’s confidence in the NT ONLF.”

Key measures outlined in the new regulations include:

• An Individual Transferable Quota system, including the introduction of conservative Total Allowable Commercial Catch (TACC) limits for all species harvested in the fishery, bringing harvest levels within sustainable limits.

• Species such as Scalloped Hammerhead, Sandbar and Dusky Sharks that are deemed to have at-risk life history traits have been combined within a specific conservative TACC.

• A contemporary harvest strategy, promoting stock sustainability and providing certainty and stability for interest, has been developed in line with national guidelines and the ‘NT Harvest Strategy Policy’.

• All vessels in the ONLF must now have a Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) operating at all times to provide accurate, real-time monitoring of a vessels location, and two-way transfer of data between Fisheries monitoring and the vessel.

• All sharks harvested in the fishery must be landed with fins naturally attached.

Electronic reporting of daily catch and effort information, providing timely catch and effort information to Fisheries.

Mr Mckey said the controlled development, managed via the harvest strategy objectives, performance indicators, triggers and management actions would help develop the fishery and maintain harvest of key target species to sustainable levels.

“The TACCs have been set based on the latest science. Stock levels for target species are believed to be healthy, a precautionary TACC reflecting a conservative increase to estimated historical targeted catch levels has been allocated to cover all retained species,” he said.

“This will reduce compliance and monitoring costs to government and licensees, ensure sustainability and provide for growth in the fishery.

“Licence holders in the ONLF can be proud of their significant contribution to developing well accepted, contemporary management arrangements and the substantial commitment they have made to regain community confidence in the fishery.”

The Fisheries Regulations can be viewed online at www.legislation.nt.gov.au

The Management Framework and Associated Harvest Strategy is now available on the Department of Primary Industry and Resources website: www.dpir.nt.gov.au.