The Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) would like to say a big thank you to one of AFMA’s longest-serving Committee members, Les Scott.
Based in Tasmania, Les has been an industry member on the Sub-Antarctic Resource Assessment Group (SARAG) (formerly SAFAG) and the Sub-Antarctic Fisheries Management Advisory Committee (SouthMAC) since the inception of these groups in 1997 and 1998 respectively. Since then there have been over 80 meetings of these groups combined. After nearly 20 years of involvement, Les is stepping down from his roles in SARAG and SouthMAC.
During this time, Les has been an integral part of bringing Australia’s Antarctic longline fishery to the forefront of seabird mitigation. His expertise has contributed to the exceptionally low level of seabird interactions in Antarctic fisheries, as seabird mitigation measures developed and improved and the fisheries moved from trawl to longline.
Les Scott
Les helped to set up the observer program in the fishery and also pushed for research programs. This has resulted in the every shot in Australia’s Antarctic Fisheries being observed and wildlife observation data being collected for every day fished, ensuring the most comprehensive database out of all of the AFMA managed fisheries.
Les Scott is also the Australian industry representative on the Australian delegation to the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR).
In 2014, Les’s company led Australian involvement in CCAMLR Exploratory Fisheries in the Ross Sea region, with one boat participating. In 2017 Australia is hoping to have two boats participating in CCAMLR Exploratory Fisheries.
AFMA wishes Les all the best in his retirement from SARAG and SouthMAC and thanks him for his commitment and contribution to the Heard Island and McDonald Islands (HIMI) Fishery and Macquarie Island Fishery. Les will continue to offer his expertise in the Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery.