2016-09-06 - Planning & Environment Committee Agenda

PLANNING & ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                              6 SEPTEMBER 2016


    Consider buying back those Commercial Fishery Licenses operating from the Noosa North
      Shore and not re-issuing any existing licences due for expiry; and
    Consider how Council could partner with the State to ensure smooth implementation of
      these recommendations.


Ordinary Meeting, 24 September 2015, Item 10, Page 9
That Council note the report by the Environment Officer (Rivers and Coast) to the Planning &
Organisation Committee Meeting dated 15 September 2015 regarding the Queensland Fisheries
Management Review and request the CEO to arrange a meeting between the Minister for
Agriculture and Fisheries, the Mayor and Cr Pardon to discuss the content of Council’s
submission and the recommendations made within that submission.
On 15 September 2015 a report was presented to Council’s Planning & Organisation Committee
providing an overview of the MRAG review and the recommendations within their ‘Taking Stock
… modernising fisheries management in Queensland’ report; and seeking Council’s preferred
way forward regarding the level of future involvement in fisheries management locally.
Key recommendations of the ‘Taking Stock …’ report include:
    Separating the Qld fisheries decision making process
    Establishment of Fishery Councils
    Categorisation of fish stocks into three ‘tiers’
    Harvest strategies for all fisheries
    Monitoring information collection & assessment
More about the establishment of Fishery Councils:
    The Review Team propose that a single layer of stakeholder-based Fishery Councils (FCs)
      be created to act as the primary source of technical advice on the management of
      individual fisheries. The primary role of the FCs would be to develop, and oversee the
      implementation of, a harvest strategy for their fishery, consistent with Government policy
      and operational ‘rules of the game’.
    FCs should also advise on priorities for monitoring, research and compliance as well as
      oversee the process of ecological risk assessments for their fisheries. Under this structure,
      the State provides the policy framework, stock management targets and operational
      harvest strategy guidelines; and the FCs are the primary source of technical advice about
      how best to meet the goals.
    For some fisheries (e.g. trawl and coral reef fin fish) the FC should be state-wide, while for
      others better management at a regional scale (e.g. inshore fin fish) a FC should be
      established for each zone.
    FCs should be a ‘decision-making’ body who reflect the rights/share holdings of the
      particular fishery. That is, they should be made up of commercial, recreational and
      customary fishers.
N.B. The Fishery Council’s recommendations have not yet been adopted by the State, however if
adopted may provide opportunity for Council as a key stakeholder protecting the ecological
values of the Noosa River to nominate a representative to sit on a Fishery Council.


Finance & Risk
Nil




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