The Western Rock Lobster fishery is one of Australia’s most valuable commercial fishery generating a landed value of $191.6 million in 2009.

Rising costs, a strong Australian dollar, increased competition, environmental challenges and the global financial crisis has resulted in a halving of the landed value of the fishery over the last 10 years. This economic performance has been exacerbated by a limited entry management system that creates perverse incentives that lead to overcapitalisation in catching technology and dissipation of economic rents through competition for catch. In summary maintaining the current management regime for this fishery will inevitably cause continued poor economic performance.

The uncertainty over recruitment into the fishery due to poor puerulus settlement has resulted in management intervention to cut catches to build up breeding stocks has resulted in further declines in the value of the fishery and a rationalisation of boat numbers.

As a result of these pressures in early 2010 both WAFIC and WRLC approached the Western Australian Government requesting that the fishery management arrangements for the fishery be fast tracked to an output control system for the 2010/11 season.

The truncated period for introduction gives the regulatory agency and the industry only 4 months to make the necessary legal and operational changes to ensure its introduction by 15 November 2010.

In order to tap into the benefits that this shift to ITQ can provide there is a need to provide targeted extension on aspects of this management system to a large group of fishermen over a short period of time so as to facilitate a smooth transistion.

The benefits of this reform to the industry and WA community from published reports include:

- Estimates of up to $80 million in additional revenue per annum; and

- Safer workplace and greater crew retention.