Australian Lakes & Coorong fishery: Improving harvest strategies

• Seeking certification under the MSC program via development of better data
• Developing of management framework, harvest strategy and control rules to ensure sustainability
• Commencing an independent bycatch study to understand impacts on unwanted species, the ecosystem, and Endangered, Threatened and Protected (ETP) species.
  

Managing complex ecosystems

Located on the Coorong lagoon and adjacent coastal waters of the Southern Ocean, the Lakes and Coorong fishery is unusual. The fishery is based in a national park that contains three distinct ecosystems, which make the environmental management of the fishery complicated. Nonetheless, it was the first community fishery in Australia to achieve certification to the MSC Fisheries Standard in 2008.

The fishery was initially certified to target four species: finfish including yellow eyed mullet (Aldrichetta forsteri), mulloway (Argyrosomus hololepidotus), golden perch (Macquaria ambigua) and small molluscs known as pipis (Plebidonax deltoides).

Assessing multiple stocks with varying life histories and differing environmental conditions, harvested using multiple methods, was complex. As such, the fishery’s species components were separated, so that each could be assessed individually and with more accuracy. 

Currently, the pipi component remains certified as sustainable, and the now separated finfish component is part of the MSC Improvement Program. Aiming to regain certification in 2027, the fishery has been granted the a Transition Assistance Fund grant to make improvements toward sustainably harvesting finfish.

What the project will do

The fishery improvement project is managed by the Southern Fishermen’s Association. Working with experienced management and science agencies, they will gather data to improve the stock assessment of two finfish target species: mulloway and yellow eyed mullet. 

The project will further develop the fishery’s Harvest Strategy and Harvest Control Rules through an updated framework for better management. Simultaneously, methods to update estimates of traditional catch will be explored. Together these actions will ensure the finfish stocks are being harvested within sustainable limits and not overfished.

Information from catch data on secondary, endangered, threatened and protected (ETP) species and the ecosystem will be contemporised in an independent bycatch study. This will provide an up-to-date assessment of fishery impacts on the ecosystem and help the fishery to mitigate adverse effects.