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

                                                                                               INTRODUCTION

As part of the development of the Noosa River Plan, the Noosa Shire Council have commissioned an evidence-
based desktop study of the Noosa River, estuary and beach fisheries. This information gathered will be used
to inform the River Plan.

The focus of this paper is on the commercial fisheries that operate in the Noosa region to better understand
the activities of fishermen and current management arrangements that regulate these activities.

The Noosa River is one of three river catchments located within or partly within the Noosa Shire Council area.
The Noosa River flows south from the Cooloola section of the Great Sandy National Park into Laguna Bay. It is
fed by springs that drain major sand deposits and is one of the few Queensland rivers with a continuous year-
round freshwater inflow. The catchment forms a coastal lagoon system of five lakes that discharge into the
Pacific Ocean at Noosa Heads.

The Noosa estuary is considered of high ecological value, abuts a national park and includes numerous fish
habitat protection areas. The waterways remain the subject of high levels of community interest given the
high value attributed to this community asset. This high level of interest is reflected in the numerous studies
Noosa Council have commissioned over time on water quality, benthos and the health of the Noosa water
catchment area more broadly.

One of these studies undertaken by Dr Ruth Thurstan, identifies declining catch rates by most anglers based
on analysis of historical catch records and other fisheries relevant, publicly available media commentary over
the 100 years recorded history of Noosa. As a result of this study and others, increasing investments are being
made by Council, local philanthropists and other interests to ‘bring back the fish’ of Noosa waterways.

More recently, a study by Greg Skilleter revealed significant loss (between 70 and 90%) of benthic biodiversity
over the last 20 years. Given the critical role of benthos in sustaining fish populations and catch, it indicates
that regardless of fishing pressure, past fish catch rates are unlikely to be sustained.

The Noosa Council submission to the Queensland Government Green Paper on Fisheries Management Reform
in 2016 noted concerns over the compatibility of some commercial fishing activities currently permitted in the
Noosa River, lakes and beaches. This paper provides information to assist Council to better understand these
activities and provide stakeholder feedback directly from commercial fishers and other key local stakeholders
that have an interest in the Noosa waterways about current commercial fishing practices and combines that
information with up-to-date fisheries catch data from Fisheries Queensland.

A detailed stakeholder analysis has been conducted that includes local Noosa commercial fishers, recreational
fishers, recreational and charter businesses that operate on the river, local businesses and tourist and
conservation groups that have a high level of interest in the permitted activities in the Noosa waterways. The
focus of the stakeholder engagement and data collection is on the principle fisheries active in the waterways;
the Beam Trawl T5 fishery and the Inshore Net Fishery that operates on the Ocean Beach (K8 Fishery) and
offshore, as well as in the rivers and lakes (N1 and N11 Fishery).

Fresh Advisory provided Council with an Initial Findings Report (February 2019) that focussed on a stakeholder
analysis and engagement plan, the relevant Fisheries Data analysis for the active fisheries currently operating
in the Noosa waterways and an analysis of other fisheries management reforms to provide some insight into
reforms undertaken in other jurisdictions. This information was assembled to provide Council with information
upon which to consider some draft options that will enable Council to have a greater level of involvement in
the regulatory decisions that apply to the current commercial fishing practices in the Noosa waterways.

The paper is divided into the following sections;


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