bluewatermag.com.au 17Australian fish stocks
status reports
The Australian Government’s Fisheries Research and
Development Corporation (FRDC) has released a
comprehensive report on the status and sustainability
of Australia’s fish stocks. Importantly, Australia’s stock
of southern bluefin tuna is now rated as recovering,
and the Pacific stock of bigeye tuna changed from
depleted to sustainable.
Available free of charge, the 2018 Status of Australian
Fish Stock Reports review 120 species of finfish,
crustaceans, molluscs and sharks and rays, providing
the most scientifically robust, up-to-date information
on the sustainability of Australia’s fish stocks.
Overall, almost 80% of the 406 stocks (120 species)
were able to be assessed, and of those almost 85%
were sustainable or recovering. Of the others, 23
stocks were classified as depleting, 54 as ‘undefined’,
and 29 as overfished – all of which have recovery
management plans in place that aim to rebuild the
stocks.
Australia has a great record in fisheries management
and the new reports provide a scientifically robust
demonstration of this. The FRDC says Australians
can be confident that locally-caught seafood is being
sourced from fisheries that are being managed for
sustainability.
The reports are available at http://www.fish.gov.au
In the Australian
Government’s latest
review of its fish stocks,
the status of southern
bluefin tuna is now rated
as recovering, and the
Pacific stock of bigeye
tuna improved from
depleted to sustainable.