There’s great news for the fishing industry and seafood consumers now that more mahi mahi can now be landed and sold by operators in the Western Tuna and Billfish Fishery (WTBF).
The Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) has assessed mahi mahi as low risk at current catch levels through its rigorous Ecological Risk Assessment process and has since been working with WTBF operators and Western Australia to increase the number of mahi mahi that can be landed and sold.
Mahi mahi
The Commonwealth and Western Australian Fisheries Minister have agreed to the change the number of fish that can be landed and sold from 10 to 200 per trip for WTBF operators. This follows consultation with the Western Australian Fisheries Industry Council (WAFIC) and Recfishwest.
The increased catch per trip limit will have little impact on the overall fishing mortality of mahi mahi since most of the fish caught are dead when the fishing gear is hauled on board. Rather than waste these fish unnecessarily there will now be more of these popular eating fish available for Western Australian seafood lovers.
AFMA has changed the WTBF fishing arrangements to enable up to 200 mahi mahi to be sustainably taken per trip and will continue to closely monitor catch levels from the fishery. AFMA would like to thank the WA government and fishing bodies for their support in making this change possible.
This decision has also been applauded by WAFIC, and you can read more of their story on this decision on their website.
For more information on the management of the WTBF, visit the AFMA website at www.afma.gov.au.