2019-07-18 OM Agenda - Item 1 - Attachment 1 - Noosa Fishing Futures

                                                                  SHORT-TERM OPTION TWO
     A BUYOUT OF THE T5 BEAM TRAWL SYMBOLS THAT HAVE HISTORY IN THE T5 AREA FOR THE NOOSA
                        RIVER AND LAKES CONNECTED TO THE NOOSA RIVER AND LAGUNA BAY AREA

Consistent with Noosa Council’s submission to the Queensland Government Green Paper on Fisheries
Management Reform in 2016, Noosa Council has continued to express concerns over the compatibility of
trawling in the Noosa River and lakes, particularly due to current projects underway aimed at the restoration
of the waterways, such as Bring Back the Fish. Council’s concerns have resulted in the commissioning of
numerous studies into the health of the Noosa River. Recent studies include the 2014 Historical Ecology of
the Noosa Estuary Fisheries Report by Dr Ruth Thurstan. Dr Thurstan’s report examined historical fisheries
productivity in the Noosa Estuary to better inform the Noosa community about ecological changes that
occurred prior to their lifetimes, and to provide insights into the species that inhabited the Noosa River and
their changing abundance over time. The historical analysis of prawn trawling records shows fishing effort
declining from 1990 – 2015. The year 1991 showed 26 licenses recording catch for a total of 1,103 fishing days
down to a low of just 63 fishing days recorded in 2014.

What is clear from numerous studies over time is that human activity and population concentrations in coastal
areas have an impact on water quality and the abundance of plant and animal life present in coastal waterways.
In Australia where more than 80% of the population live within 50km of the coast and in South east
Queensland, one of Australia’s fastest growing regions, governments of all levels will seek to ensure natural
resources and areas of high conservation value are protected for future generations.

The Noosa Council has consistently flagged that it is a high priority for Council to protect what is arguably its
greatest community asset, the rivers, lakes and beaches. The option to cease beam trawling in the relevant T5
fishery area of Noosa is seen by many groups17 as another step toward the recovery and restoration process in
the rivers and lakes and the best chance to give the system a break. These groups have requested the Noosa
Council support a ban on beam trawling in the river system and cite as one of their main reason the recent
interim report from Professor Greg Skilleter. The groups include the Noosa Parks Association, Noosa Shire
Residents and Ratepayers Association, Noosa District Landcare, Sunshine Coast Environment Council, Noosa
Integrated Catchment Association, the Friends of Lake Weyba and Friends of Kinaba. Professor Skilleter’s
report points to a decline in biodiversity in the rivers and lakes and these conservation groups have attributed
this decline in biodiversity to activities such as beam trawling, damaging the habitats of the benthic
communities the fish and prawns feed on.

There is also a view prevalent among many commercial fishers who have said ‘the river is being loved to death’.
There are some opposing views notably from T5 fishers that the low incidence of beam trawl activity over the
last six years since major flood events in south east Queensland in 2010/11 as a reason not to shut the fishery.
Flooding was widespread across Queensland and New South Wales from the end of December 2010 to
January 2011 with several separate rain events causing rivers to rise over a lengthy period. Again in January
2013, much of southern Queensland suffered from major flooding, including in the Burnett and Mary River
catchments. In the six years that followed these major flood events, there has been a significant drop-off of in
effort in the T5 fishery with no more than 6 boats active in any given year. Initial conversations with fishers
have identified that in some years, no more than two boats have been active in the fishery. The average annual
catch over this 6-year period was 4.35 tonnes. By any historical measure of catch rates18, this is very low.
Ironically, this is also sighted as a reason not to close the fishery. Fisheries Queensland data for the T5 fishery,
effort and days fished information is validated when discussed with local T5 fishers, that for the past 6 years
the beam trawl fishery has been the worst observed for a long time. The data for T5 Beam Trawl – aggregated
method by year shows low volumes of prawns caught for the data period 2013 – 2018.



17
     https://www.noosanews.com.au/news/groups-combine-to-ban-noosa-river-trawling/3670634/

18
     Historical ecology of the Noosa Estuary Fisheries, Dr Ruth Thurstan
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