Compliance, enforcement and monitoring is a pivotal part of management of Commonwealth fisheries. The Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) applies a risk based, intelligence driven approach to targeting its compliance resources in the right areas. The National Compliance and Enforcement Program for 2016-17, outlining the main areas for attention this year, has now been released.
AFMA has a comprehensive monitoring framework in place to help ensure the integrity of fisheries management arrangements and the sustainability of the fish resources. These include satellite tracking 24/7 of all of Commonwealth fishing vessels though a compulsory GPS vessel monitoring tracking system (known as VMS), electronic monitoring (e-monitoring) or AFMA observers on board boats to monitor fishing operations, port inspections by AFMA officers when boats return to shore and mandatory reporting of catch.
Importantly, this level of monitoring means that AFMA can identify potential problems early, in addition to catching those who are doing the wrong thing. This combined with fisheries management decisions based on the latest available science, ensures that our fisheries are healthy.
What this means for lovers of seafood is that if you are purchasing seafood from a Commonwealth managed fishery, you can be assured that it is from a sustainable, well monitored fishery.
A majority of fishers do the right thing. So go out, enjoy our local, fresh, healthy sustainable seafood, being confident in the knowledge that it is coming from a well-managed fishery.