Over 150 skippers and crew from four different fisheries have graduated with a TAFE accreditation in implementing and monitoring environmentally sustainable work practices.
This was part of an AFMA project funded by the Australian Government’s Caring for our Country to improve the knowledge and skills of commercial fishers in natural resource management. These skills will help fishers come up with ways to reduce bycatch when they are fishing which will benefit Australia’s oceans and the Commonwealth fishing industry.
Topics covered during these courses were tailored to each fishery and included bycatch mitigation measures and reporting, current management arrangements and product marketing, along with other useful training like negotiating and influencing.
Feedback from the crew and skippers shows they have a better understanding of key environmental issues within the fisheries.
AFMA has a team dedicated to helping fisheries tackle bycatch and discarding issues in a focused and cost-effective way. If you have ideas for future education programs or have other ideas to minimise bycatch in Commonwealth fisheries please get in touch with someone from the Bycatch and Discard Program on AFMA Direct 1 300 723 621.