Assessment of the Torres Strait

The primary source of catch and effort monitoring relevant to the Torres Strait Bêche de mer Fishery is the voluntary buyers and processors Docket Book System. This system applies to Traditional Inhabitant Boat (TIB) community fishing. The Docket Book System is a voluntary system introduced in 2003-04 that depends on the cooperation of the buyers and sellers to record the catches sold and ancillary information about the fishing operation. In their submission, the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) indicated that it plans to make reporting of all catches in Torres Strait fisheries mandatory by way of introduction of fish receiver licences and compulsory reporting by those receivers, including buyers of TIB catch.

The future assessment needs identified in the 2009 fishery status report include understanding sea cucumber catch (Woodhams and Rodgers 2010).

The department considers that developing accurate catch estimates should be an integral part of the finalisation of the draft community based harvest strategies that have been developed. The accurate estimation of all removals takes on added importance given proposals to allow renewed harvest of the high value black teatfish.

While acknowledging the inherent difficulties in estimating levels of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, and that the risk of illegal fishing in the Torres Strait Bêche de mer Fishery has decreased with the closure of the Papua New Guinea Sea Cucumber Fishery in 2009, the department considers that there is an ongoing need to continue to improve estimates of all removals from sea cucumber stocks to ensure that total allowable catch recommendations are based on the best possible information.

The Protected Zone Joint Authority to:

1. 
   implement strategies to improve estimates of commercial (community) harvest from the Torres Strait Bêche-de-mer Fishery; and
   
2. 
   develop and implement appropriate strategies to obtain improved estimates of all removals from sea cucumber stocks.
   

The Torres Strait Bêche de-mer Fishery is currently managed through the use of fishery management notices. Management measures include limited entry, gear restrictions, vessel length limits, species-specific size limits based on estimates of size at reproductive maturity and total allowable catch limits.

A recommendation of the first EPBC Act assessment of the fishery in 2005 was for the Protected Zone Joint Authority to develop fishery specific objectives, performance measures and performance indicators for the fishery relating to target species and ecosystem impacts within two years.

In the 2008 submission for reassessment of the fishery, the Protected Zone Joint Authority indicated that objectives, measures and indicators would be delivered through a harvest strategy for Torres Strait hand collectable fisheries. In the 2008 assessment of the fishery, a further recommendation was made for the Protected Zone Joint Authority to develop and finalise the harvest strategy for the fishery with objectives, performance indicators and performance measures appropriate to the fishery.

In the 2011 submission for reassessment of the fishery, AFMA advised that draft community based harvest strategies for sea cucumber species have been developed by CSIRO for two communities, Erub and Warraber. AFMA has advised that the draft community harvest strategies include:

• 
  area based total allowable catches;
  
• 
  size limits;
  
• 
  bans on the use of hookah apparatus;
  
• 
  rotational harvest; and
  
• 
  reef closures to help rebuild stocks and develop nursery areas.
  

The department considers that the harvest strategies should incorporate documented recovery strategies with:

• 
  measurable reference points;
  
• 
  management responses; and
  
• 
  timeframes for implementation of those responses.
  

The Protected Zone Joint Authority to:

1. 
   develop strategies for implementing the existing draft community based harvest strategies to include meaningful performance indicators, performance measures and responses;
   
2. 
   extend the development of harvest strategies to other communities in the area of the Torres Strait Bêche de-mer Fishery as appropriate; and
   
3. 
   consider formalising performance indicators, performance measures and responses for those areas of the fishery not covered by community based harvest strategies.
   

The Torres Strait Bêche-de-mer Fishery is a multispecies fishery. Individual species of sea cucumbers have different biological and ecological characteristics and as such require species specific management. A lack of information on individual species was identified as an issue in the 2004 assessment of the fishery. In the 2008 assessment, a recommendation was made for the Protected Zone Joint Authority to undertake appropriate research on target species to inform the setting of sustainable catch levels through the harvest strategy, including:

• 
  research on providing reliable biomass estimates; and
  
• 
  addressing key gaps in the understanding of the biology and ecology of sea cucumber species.
  

The department acknowledges that lack of fishing effort in, and low overall value of the Torres Strait Bêche-de-mer Fishery means the ability to allocate resources to research is limited. However a better understanding of target species is an important step towards the ecological sustainability of the fishery. The department accepts that the current surveys carried out by CSIRO are an important step into understanding the stocks and where more information will be required to inform the community-based harvest strategies.

The Protected Zone Joint Authority to continue to identify and pursue opportunities for research relevant to species harvested in the Torres Strait Bêche de mer Fishery.

The sea cucumber fisheries of northern Australia generally harvest many of the same species and face many of the same issues. In addition, the 2006 CSIRO project examining the sustainability of Torres Strait sea cucumber stocks concluded that it is likely the Torres Strait and Papua New Guinea sandfish stocks are shared between the two jurisdictions.

Submissions from a number of fishery management agencies for initial assessment of sea cucumber fisheries under the EPBC Act indicated that a high level of collaboration and coordination in regard to sea cucumber research existed through the North Australian Fishery Management workshops held during the late 1990's.

The operation of the Protected Zone Joint Authority provides a valuable link between sea cucumber fisheries managed by AFMA and those managed by Fisheries Queensland. The department acknowledges the Protected Zone Joint Authority’s continued liaison with Papua New Guinea to manage sea cucumber stocks. It is less clear to what extent liaison with the Northern Territory and Western Australia occurs.

International trade in sea cucumbers was initially discussed at the 12th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in 2002. A technical workshop was held in 2004 to consider and review biological and trade information to assist establishing conservation priorities for sea cucumbers. Subsequently, attention has focussed on the development of recommendations for Parties to improve the conservation of sea cucumber stocks. At the 14th Conference of the Parties in 2007, the Parties adopted a decision to bring the need to increase efforts to address challenges in the sustainable management of sea cucumber fisheries to the specific attention of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO).

In November 2007 the FAO held a workshop on Sustainable Use and Management of Sea Cucumber Fisheries (Purcell 2010). A decision of the 15th Conference of the Parties in 2010 was for the Animals Committee of CITES to evaluate the outcomes of the workshop and recommend appropriate follow-up actions at the 16th meetings of the Conference of the Parties (to be held in March 2013).

In view of the international interest in ensuring that sea cucumber resources are managed sustainably, the department considers that close co operation between all jurisdictions responsible for managing Australian and shared sea cucumber resources is necessary.

The Protected Zone Joint Authority and the Australian Fisheries Management Authority to continue and encourage further co operation with other relevant jurisdictions to pursue increased knowledge and complementary management of sea cucumber resources across fisheries and across jurisdictions.