Dr Quentin Hanich. (Photo: University of Wollongong)

Foreign boats allowed to fish in Australian waters, expert warns

AUSTRALIA
Friday, December 15, 2017, 23:10 (GMT + 9)

A leading fisheries expert and conservationists have expressed concern about changes in the law related to marine protections from remote waters off the Australian coast, which, they believe, would allow foreign fishing boats with low-paid crews to fish there.

Dr Quentin Hanich, head of fisheries governance research at the University of Wollongong's Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security, said many of the proposed changes were in distant waters far from port and "it had never been profitable for the fishers to go there", The Sydney Morning Herald reported.

In his view, if cheap distant-water vessels are allowed to come in, those vessels will not come into port, fearing that that combined with subsidised fuel, an AUD 1000 (USD  766) annual wage and a whole bunch of problems with the way they treat their crews means they have incredibly low costs and can fish those remote areas.

The suggestion has been rejected by the government as "unsubstantiated scaremongering" and the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) says some waters are being underfished and they are in talks with several operators about allowing foreign boats to operate in Australia's fishing zone under existing laws.

Dr Hanich, who advises international organisations and governments on fisheries governance and marine conservation, said such a scenario would require law changes allowing cheap foreign boats.

He believed the government's proposed weakening of protected marine areas was based on "hypothetical future changes in Australian regulations on foreign vessels [that] may enable industry to reduce business costs and fish in these previously economically marginal zones".

Dr Hanich questioned the economic need to relax marine protections, saying official estimates showed that under current laws, it would result in a mere AUD 4 million (USD 3 million) gain to the Australian fishing industry.

There are no foreign boats operating in the Australian fishing zone. Foreign boats can be deemed Australian, and allowed to fish in Australian waters, when there are no domestic boats of that type available – such as large distant-water boats that can deep-freeze fish and stay at sea for long periods. Such boats must operate under Australian standards.

AFMA confirmed it has been in "discussions with a number of operators this year about deeming boats to be Australian across several fisheries".

However, Pew Charitable Trusts oceans director Michelle Grady insisted the "ambition of the tuna industry to see very deep water remote areas fished" was driving the marine park changes.

This could lead to increased bycatch of threatened species, depleted fish stocks and the loss of large conservation areas, she said.
However, Water Resources Minister Anne Ruston said such claims had "no substance".

"Of course it is not the intention, nor has it ever been the intention, of the government to allow foreign fishing vessels to fish in Australian waters as a result of changes to marine park zoning," she said.

Tuna Australia chief executive David Ellis described as "absurd" the claim that the Australian fishing industry required foreign vessels to access fishing areas, and said Australia was "recognised worldwide as a leader in sustainable fishery management".

Maritime Union of Australia national secretary Paddy Crumlin said cheap foreign labour "results in a race to the bottom rather than decent wages for all", and unions would fight any such move in the fishing industry. 

editorial@seafood.media
www.seafood.media

Print