Minister for Primary industries and Fisheries Tim Mulherin said that CFISH ahs began its journey in 1988 and since than 10 million records outlining commercial fishing activity and catch in Queensland had been entered into the CFISH system through commercial fishing logbooks. Mulherin said that the first logbooks were issued in January 1988 to the commercial industry which at that stage totalled some 2000 operators. He added that in the beginning there were just two logbooks one for outer trawl fishery and one for all the other fisheries.
He explained that still some 1600 commercial operators are required to fill out logbooks covering 20 different fisheries throughout Queensland. According to him the logbooks record daily fishing locations, catch by species and types of fishing gear used by each boat operating in the fishery.
Lew Williams, CFISH manager, opined that the information was used extensively by the industry and the Government to assess the condition of Queensland’s fisheries and in developing fisheries management plans to ensure future sustainability. He further adds that this information also feeds into national statistics and provides information such as the value of individual species, fisheries and the industry as a whole in Queensland.
Williams states that the programme has extended to such a degree that it is now one of the most comprehensive fisheries information systems in Australia. According to him CFISH receive 500 requests each year seeking information from the database.
