TOTAL ALLOWABLE CATCH - TAC
Update!! It appears that TACs may be one positive outcome of the 2019 reform process. Finally at last!! However don't get too excited just yet, because it seems TACs will only be imposed on a handful of species, like barra, whiting, some mackerel, black jew and a couple of other higher profile fish. And we're told that the TAC will be set based on the total average commercial harvest over the past 5 years. That means there will be NO reduction in catch, just a cap on what in many cases, is already excessive harvesting. All the other species will continue to have no commercial catch limits, so effort will inevitably move to other species once the TAC for those nominated is reached. This will not address the issue of over-harvesting and resource depletion at all.
Using Total Allowable Catch (TAC) as a fisheries management tool is widely used in best practice fisheries management around the world. TACs are an example of an "öutput control", as opposed to an "input control" where the control applies to restricting fishing apparatus for example.
Output controls are considered good management tools, because they effectively put a cap on the total amount of product (fish) permitted to be taken from the natural stocks. We recreational fishers have "enjoyed" output controls for many years now, (bag limits are an example of an output control) however most commercial fisheries in Queensland still have a third world "catch as much as you can" approach amazingly. Exceptions include the reef line fishery, the Spanner Crab fishery and Grey mackerel, and these were only introduced belatedly in response to overwhelming community and sector calls for effective controls on these species.
It seems to defy logic not to have TAC's on most, if not all our commercial fisheries.
How do you justify restricting how many barramundi a recreational fisher can keep, when right alongside him, he sees commercial netters relentlessly hammering the stocks without constraint? The answer is simple - you can't!
Much of the current conflict between recreational and commercial fishers could be overcome if TACs were in place. If we knew there was a sustainable cap of say "X" tonnes of barramundi per year permitted to be taken from the East Coast of Queensland by all commercial netters, we would feel much happier that the resource was being sustainably managed and was not at risk of over-fishing and collapse.
TAC's can be adjusted depending on stock assessments - increased in good times, reduced in poor seasons - it's not rocket science. But it requires a robust catch reporting and compliance system to be in place and a fisheries management agency with resources and commitment to administer it - neither of which exists at the moment sadly in Queensland.
Using Total Allowable Catch (TAC) as a fisheries management tool is widely used in best practice fisheries management around the world. TACs are an example of an "öutput control", as opposed to an "input control" where the control applies to restricting fishing apparatus for example.
Output controls are considered good management tools, because they effectively put a cap on the total amount of product (fish) permitted to be taken from the natural stocks. We recreational fishers have "enjoyed" output controls for many years now, (bag limits are an example of an output control) however most commercial fisheries in Queensland still have a third world "catch as much as you can" approach amazingly. Exceptions include the reef line fishery, the Spanner Crab fishery and Grey mackerel, and these were only introduced belatedly in response to overwhelming community and sector calls for effective controls on these species.
It seems to defy logic not to have TAC's on most, if not all our commercial fisheries.
How do you justify restricting how many barramundi a recreational fisher can keep, when right alongside him, he sees commercial netters relentlessly hammering the stocks without constraint? The answer is simple - you can't!
Much of the current conflict between recreational and commercial fishers could be overcome if TACs were in place. If we knew there was a sustainable cap of say "X" tonnes of barramundi per year permitted to be taken from the East Coast of Queensland by all commercial netters, we would feel much happier that the resource was being sustainably managed and was not at risk of over-fishing and collapse.
TAC's can be adjusted depending on stock assessments - increased in good times, reduced in poor seasons - it's not rocket science. But it requires a robust catch reporting and compliance system to be in place and a fisheries management agency with resources and commitment to administer it - neither of which exists at the moment sadly in Queensland.
