NSW fisheries Directory UMM :Data Elmu:jurnal:E:Ecological Economics:Vol31.Issue2.Nov1999:

Working Group 1 comprising officers from NSW Fisheries, the NSW Cabinet Office, the Common- wealth Scientific Industrial Research Organisation and NSW Treasury. One of the key ideas embodied in the system is the recommendation that principles used to guide corporations can be applied to fisheries. Essen- tially, each qualifying fisher is given a bundle of shares in all the species of fish in a fishery. A share is a formal entitlement to a proportional share of all the commercial opportunities to profit from use of a fishery. Legally, any changes to these arrangements must be on a pro-rata basis. The fishery is managed as an interacting whole rather than by individual species. As set out in a periodically revised management plan, sharehold- ers are entitled to a share of any gear restrictions and quotas in the fishery. A special kind of lim- ited entry fishery is created: entry into the fishery or expansion is only possible by acquiring shares from existing shareholders. As far as I am aware, this is the first time a corporate-like structure has been used to manage a fishery. The idea, however, has been proposed independently by Townsend and Pooley 1994. The legislation resulting from the Working Group’s recommendations, a totally new Fishery Management Act for NSW, passed through Par- liament in May 1994 and was proclaimed into law on 16 January 1995. NSW Fisheries, the govern- ment department responsible for the state’s fisheries, is now in the process of implementing the new framework. Since proclamation of the Act NSW, 1994b, there has been a change in government with a consequence that implementa- tion of the Act is on a slower schedule than would be the case if the government which developed the Act was still in power. Nevertheless, implementa- tion is proceeding in a step-wise manner with priority being given to single species fisheries. So far, transition to the share fishery system has been limited to single species fisheries. A prerequisite to transition to share management is introduction and agreement to a management plan for a fishery. Interestingly, most opposition to the share sys- tem comes from the new Minister for fisheries who appears to prefer to manage fishing licences on an individual licence by licence basis without the strong strategic focus that adaptively managed share fisheries demand. Nevertheless, he has re- cently offered all fishers the choice between transi- tion to share management and remaining under the old licence by licence system. As part of this process, environmental representatives have been appointed to each management advisory commit- tee established to develop management plans for each fishery. Meeting collectively, these members recently advised the Minister to make two amend- ments to the Act and implement the share fishery system as originally recommended by the Work- ing Group. With qualifications associated with the level of charges and fees associated with transition to the new system, licensed fishers also remain keen to implement share-managed fisheries throughout NSW.

2. NSW fisheries

In NSW fisheries over 100 species are sold for commercial purposes but more than half are caught in small amounts, less than 100 tonnes per year. For many species, less than 5 tonnes per annum is sold commercially. For some near-shore and estuarine species, over 50 of the catch is recreational. While State law makes sale of fish caught by recreational fishers illegal, there is a considerable black market. Over 1000 km in length, the coast involved extends from 28 to 37°S. The previous NSW fishery management system was based on annual, unlimited, fishing licences, renewed by custom every year. With the exception of species-specific fisheries like abalone, control was achieved via access, gear and boat size con- trols. The annual licence framework created un- certainty as there was no guarantee of renewal 1 The Working Group’s chair generally acknowledges the author as the architect of the framework developed by the group. Many of the principles derive from Young 1992a. The Working Group consisted of the Chief Executive Officer of NSW Fisheries, a Deputy Secretary for NSW Treasury, the Secretary to the NSW Cabinet Office and the author of this paper. The Secretary to the group, who prepared drafts of the various reports was a line manager within NSW Fisheries. and licence conditions were often changed in what appeared to be an ad hoc manner. Regulations were reactionary in nature and generally implemented or modified each time a problem emerged. Fishers argued that this encouraged people to find ways to make a quick profit and cheat the system. In 1994, there were approximately 2100 licensed fishers in NSW who operated around 3300 boats. A total of 80 of boats are less than 8 m in length. No new boat licences had been issued since 1984 and boat replacement has generally been on a metre for metre basis. In 1990, foreshadowing a transition to an individually transferable quota system such as the one described here, the Minister announced a freeze on the issue of new licences and the rule that any future quota allocation would be based on catch history between 1987 and 1990. Nevertheless, a few aspiring people found ways to enter the industry. During this time several attempts were made to reform administrative arrangements. Processes, such as the one described in this paper, also create uncertainty. The less predictable the direction of change, the less is total investment in the industry. In common with many other of the world’s fisheries, in NSW fish stocks have been declining, recreational fishing pressure is increasing, existing licence provisions encourage the use of inefficient gear and technology, and incomes from fishing are low. In addition, the regulatory regime prevented investment in the gear and equipment necessary for efficient exploitation of the available stock, and a large black market in fish existed. There was widespread political dissatisfaction with various governments’ inability to manage the state’s fisheries in anything other than a reactionary and crisis management style. The challenge was to find a mechanism that would solve as many problems as possible. The remainder of this paper discusses the new management system from the perspective of the considerations and issues that drove the Working Group to recommend it.

3. The need for an adaptive management structure