Australian government has released the draft Management Plan for the Commercial Marine Scalefish Fishery for public consultation.
The press communiqué of the government states that the constellation process is an important step to contribute to management of the fishery. Minister for Fisheries, Gail Gago, said it provides the community with an opportunity to contribute to future management arrangements for the fishery.
According to him the Marine Scalefish Fishery is a multi-species, multi-gear fishery that provides for the commercial harvest of more than 60 species using a total of 21 different gear types.
Gago informed that the fishery is the state’s largest fishery in terms of the number of participating commercial licence holders and it provides significant social, economical and employment benefits to the regional South Australia.
He added that the four primary species identified in the Management Plan as King George Whiting, Snapper, Southern Garfish and Southern Calamari also support a significant amount of recreational fishing activity. He further said that this plan addresses management of the commercial fishery, recreational catch of these species will be managed under a separate set of arrangements.
