Striped Marlin, Wikimedia Commons
The Harvest Strategy for the Eastern Tuna and Billfish Fishery (ETBF) is leading the way on pelagic fisheries sustainability. This difficult task has been achieved by specifying acceptable levels of risk for both Broadbill Swordfish and Striped Marlin.
A recent meeting of the Tropical Tuna Resource Assessment Group reviewed the most recent stock assessments completed for Broadbill Swordfish and Striped Marlin, and used this information to update the Harvest Strategy’s target catch rates for these species. These clearly showed that both stocks are being sustainably used by the Australian fishing industry.
South-West Pacific Ocean stock assessments have now been completed for Broadbill Swordfish and Striped Marlin. These assessments include catches from coastal waters of New Zealand, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands as well as catches by large foreign fleets such as Japan and Taiwan.
We used the historical catch rate that corresponds to getting the best sustained economic benefit from the commercial fishery as the new target catch rate for use in the ETBF harvest strategy.
Broadbill Swordfish and Striped Marlin and found throughout eastern Australian waters and beyond into the entire South-Western Pacific Ocean, and are fished by many countries. AFMA, with the Australian government, is working hard to ensure that the combined catches of all nations are sustainable.
For more information, please contact Steve, Manager, Tropical Tuna fisheries on 02 6225 5306 or steve.auld@afma.gov.au.