2019-07-18 OM Agenda - Item 1 - Attachment 3 - Noosa Council Submission to State Fisheries Discussion Paper

1.2 Proposed regulatory changes supported by Noosa Council but with further
    recommendations.

The following proposed regulatory changes are supported, however Noosa Council considers there
are further changes that would result in better management outcomes for the fisheries.

19. Divide the existing East Coast Inshore Fishery into six management areas and establish a separate
total allowable commercial catch (TACC) based on sustainable catch limits for each management area
(MA 1–6).
     NSC strongly believes that fisheries are best managed at a local level and the move to divide
         the fishery into six management areas is a step in the right direction. Given the huge size of
         the fishery and different pressures encountered, this division should allow better
         management of individual fisheries through a TACC.
     Council believes that six areas across the State is not sufficient for effective local management.
         Noosa would be keen to engage with the State with a view to trialling a local management
         model to the Noosa area. With a willing local Council and a willing community, we believe the
         Noosa River could be a local management model that could be expanded to other more
         complex areas of the State fishery.

21. Establish total allowable commercial catch (TACC) limits for tier two inshore species in the East
Coast Inshore Fishery.
NSC believe this is a step in the right direction towards a more sustainable management regime for
several key commercial in our area, especially mullet. This combined with vessel monitoring systems
and new reporting requirements (Proposal 56) will ensure vastly improved management of these
species.

However, we believe that mullet would be more appropriately managed by an ITQ process. This will
allow a more flexible approach to localised population pressures for mullet and give more certainty to
local fishermen with a recorded catch history. Council looks forward to providing input into the
Harvest Strategy for the mullet fishery in the near future. Further comment is provided on the
possibility of an ITQ for mullet in Part 2 of this submission.

25. Amend the use of river set nets under the N2 fishery symbol.
The proposal to amend the netting requirements in the N2 fishery by reducing the number of nets
and an overall reduction in length of net in the water is supported by Council. However, the
Queensland Government’s proposed reforms does not include any changes to netting requirements
for the N1 fishery, specifically to reduce the length of net in the water in Lakes Cootharaba, Cooroibah
and Weyba.

The current Fisheries Regulation (s474) allows for a mesh net to be used in Lake Cootharaba,
Cooroibah and Weyba up to 1500m in length (s474). The proposed netting changes for the N2 fishery
symbol should be extended to the N1 fishery or specifically for the Noosa River and Lakes , consistent
with proposal 25, and the total head rope length that can be used in nearshore waters and rivers and
creeks is reduced to 600 m overall. This issue is elaborated on further in Part 2 of this submission.

32. Amend certain species in-possession limits
Noosa Council has received regular complaints about the level of take of pipi’s on the ocean beaches
north of the Noosa River. While a reduction in the in-possession limit from 50 to 30 is an improvement,
it does not sufficiently address the issue of over-fishing of this species in the Noosa area. When the
issue is raised with Council, it is in regard to large groups or families entering the area to harvest pipi’s,