SPF Scientific Panel meeting, 15-16 December 2016

The Small Pelagic Fishery (SPF) Scientific Panel met on 15-16 December 2016 in Hobart. Key items considered were:

• new economic research and management strategy evaluation (MSE) testing to inform the harvest rates used for setting total allowable catches (TAC) for the 2017-18 SPF fishing season which commences 1 May 2017
• an application requesting a 12 month trial of pair trawling (where two boats are used to trawl a midwater trawl net).

The Scientific Panel’s advice from today will be finalised will be presented to the next Small Pelagic Fishery Stakeholder Forum to be held in Sydney on 24 January 2017. More information on the forum including the Panel’s advice will be available on AFMA’s website next week.

Attendance at the Stakeholder Forum is by invitation only. To request an invitation, you must register your interest by emailing your name, email address, phone number and organisation or affiliation to Darci.Wallis@afma.gov.au by 10 January 2017. Please note that registration does not guarantee an invitation.

There will also be opportunity to comment on the pair trawling application if you cannot make the meeting.  Details will be available next week, however a timetable for the public comment period is below.

Comments made both at the Stakeholder Forum and through public comment, will be considered by the Scientific Panel,  South East Management Advisory Committee (SEMAC) and the independent AFMA Commission.