Industry News

Seafood Directions 2024 will be held in Hobart at the Hotel Grand Chancellor from September 10-12, and will foster collaboration, inspire innovation, and empower delegates to address the critical challenges and opportunities facing the seafood sector today.

Seafood Directions is the Southern Hemisphere's premier ideas, innovation and networking event for the commercial seafood industry. The forum draws international speakers and delegates, providing the opportunity to promote the seafood industry, discuss issues, workshop solutions, teach best practices, share knowledge and research, and plan for the industry's future.

TAC Workshop

The TAC Workshop is set for Tuesday 9th April 2024 @ Flinders Hotel on the Corner of Cookj & Wood St, Flinders.

An agenda will be forwarded to you if you are a member of AVCZ. If you have not received 0n email please request by clicking the link here……….

23-24 TAC News

23/24 Further Abalone Quota Order and Fisheries Notice for the Central Zone of the Victorian Abalone Fishery

VFA want to thank everyone who participated in the consultation process, either by attending the workshop or in a submission. Your time and feedback is appreciated.

Following consultation with stakeholders under Section 3A of the Fisheries Act 1995, VFA inform you that they have set the 2023/24 Total Allowable Commercial Catch (TACC) and management arrangements for the central zone of the Victorian

Abalone Fishery. This includes:

1. A blacklip TACC of 213.1 t (total catch target of 222.9 t with carryover);

2. A greenlip TACC of 3.4 t; and

3. Set legal minimum size limits as per the attached Fisheries Notice.

The attached Fisheries Notice prescribes spatial catch allocations where a spatial

management unit (SMU) is automatically closed to commercial fishing when the 10% upper limit is surpassed, except for Back Beaches and Phillip Island SMUs (5% upper limits), and Surf Coast and Port Phillip Bay SMUs (5 tonne upper limit).

Spatial management unit Lower limit Lower

threshold TARGET (including additional carryover) Upper threshold Upper limit

Shipwreck Coast (4.01-5.03) 26.3 27.7 29.2 30.7 32.1

Cape Otway (6.01-8.01) 44.1 46.6 49.0 51.5 53.9

Surf Coast (8.02-10.05) 1.0 1.2 1.7 2.5 5.0

Port Phillip Bay (11.01-11.18) 0.0 0.0 0.0 2.5 5.0

Back Beaches (12.01-12.05) 38.0 39.0 40.0 41.0 42.0

Flinders (12.06-13.07) 18.5 19.5 20.5 21.5 22.6

Phillip Island (14.01-14.11) 30.7 31.5 32.3 33.1 33.9

Kilcunda (15.01-15.05) 9.3 9.8 10.3 10.8 11.3

Cape Liptrap (16.01-16.06) 8.5 8.9 9.4 9.9 10.3

Prom Westside (16.07-17.13) 18.9 20.0 21.0 22.1 23.1

Prom Eastside (18.03-18.09, ex 18.08) 4.3 4.6 4.8 5.0 5.3

Cliffys (18.08) 4.2 4.5 4.7 4.9 5.2

CENTRAL ZONE TOTAL CATCH TARGET (TACC + CARRYOVER) 222.9

I have included with this letter a copy of the 2023/24 Further Abalone Quota Order and the Fisheries (Central Abalone Zone) Notice 2023. I encourage divers to use Vic-eCatch to ensure compliance with current arrangements and manage fishing accordingly.

Legal minimum lengths (LML)

I understand there is some desire from industry to increase the LMLs at some SMUs in the central zone. I am concerned that increasing LMLs could concentrate fishing effort within SMUs and introducing multiple size zones within SMUs could reduce operational flexibility for divers.

Industry collected shell measurer data would inform the assessment of potential impacts of increasing LMLs. Without access to this data, the VFA proposes to maintain current LMLs for the 2023/24 season.

This is an opportunity for industry to demonstrate stewardship and commitment to the long-term sustainability of this important resource, by developing voluntary agreements to fish particular SMUs or reef codes at increased LMLs. Progress in this will be reviewed as part of next season’s stock assessment and quota setting process. In addition, the VFA will work with the Abalone Victoria Central Zone (AVCZ) and central zone licence holders in 2023 to develop a data sharing agreement that ensures ongoing access to shell measurement and depth data.

Part of an effective harvest strategy is to have an effective Fishery Independent Survey (FIS). The FIS help us understand abundance and biomass of the fishery, indepepnded of catch and effort data, and is usually a sample of what fish are on the bottom at specific sites.

The industry and VFA have been concerned for some time that the current FIS is not providing accurate or robust data to support the harvest strategy effectively. AVCZ is part of a working group with the Eastern Zone and Western Zone through Abalone Council Victoria, MRAG and VFA to fully review the FIS process and come up with an industry supported and scientifically robust new process.

We are optimistic that the FIS review will ultimately help VFA develop a more effective harvest strategy for the industry to move forward with. This will involve suspending the current FIS whilst the review takes place.