Australian rock lobster fisheries constitute a range of the most economically valuable seafood industry components of the Australian economy. Despite a 16 per cent decrease in the volume of production the combined Australian lobster fisheries generated a landed value of AU$403.8 million in 2008-09 , ranking as the most economically valuable of the wild catch fisheries.

New Zealand rock lobster fisheries generated an estimated NZ$184 million in 2008/09 .

Australia and New Zealand share a common species – cold water southern rock lobster, Jasus edwardsii – whilst Australia also produces western and tropical rock lobsters, Panulirus species, from temperate and warm waters in Western Australia and Queensland respectively.

As a consequence of the markedly different circumstances in the Australian and New Zealand lobster fisheries and the industries which are dependent upon them there has been increased interest from Australian industry participants and management agencies in the New Zealand research and management processes and outcomes.

The principal ‘architects’ of the 2011 trans-Tasman Congress are confident that the chosen theme of ‘productivity’ is one of sufficient scope to draw together the best available information and advice in regard to the complete product chain for rock lobsters.

The exchange of information, ideas and aspirations at the 2011 trans-Tasman 7th Rock Lobster Congress will streamline and accelerate stock rebuild initiatives and enable greater efficiency gains in terms of research and compliance spend across the various fisheries’ jurisdictions.

The seafood industry is comprised of national, state, regional and sector organisations all of whom have a "client group" with which two-way communication and connection is anticipated. It is also noted that industry organisations have identified the need to improve lines of communication between industry associations and their members as being critical for many associations survival.

Industry organisations have articulated the issues that impact on their associations'/organisations effectiveness and which they believe should be researched and could be addressed through improved and coordinated communication strategies via a research project.

The identified issues are:

• Defining how organisations are relevant and what value is being offered to members;
• Lack of clarity as to what ‘product’ is being offered;
• A lack of clarity as to what associations' key messages are for their members and broader industry;
• A disjunct between the message being sent by groups and those receiving it;
• Misunderstanding of what is being said amongst many competing messages;
• Different priorities at top and bottom of associations' organisational structures;
• Confusion amongst members as to who’s who and why. What do the different levels of organisations do? What representation do or don’t they have?
• All of the above were made more difficult by a general lack of support and funding for associations.

No one group has the resources or skills set to address all of these issues, but the issues were common across all sectors and jurisdictions and a cooperative approach was considered to be possible and beneficial.

Every time you fly, you listen to the flight attendant state, “In the unlikely event of an emergency, it is important that etc”. The message is continually reinforced so that, in the event of an incident, you will know exactly how to adopt the brace position and put on a life jacket.

Similarly, regular trials of the Seafood Incident Response Plan (SIRP) need to be held to reinforce industry awareness of its existence and ensure that the SIRP is responsive and relevant.

Australian seafood has an excellent reputation when it comes to food safety but we are potentially only one step from a disaster.

E.g. 22 December 2011 headlines “WA grown oysters off the Christmas Menu”. A headline such as this can have a highly detrimental effect on the Australian seafood industry if not properly managed. In this case, the SIRP was implemented as a level 1 emergency (Watching brief).

This does, however, highlight why it is important that the seafood industry is regularly reminded of the existence of the SIRP

SSA on behalf of the Australian seafood industry has been responsible for the development and ongoing maintenance of the SIRP.

The SIRP co-exists with other existing incident response protocols and provide guidance to the seafood industry as to how to respond and thus minimize damage to the industry resulting from an adverse incident.

This SIRP trial workshop is planned as a prelude to the Australasian Aquaculture Conference & Trade Show (1-4 May 2012, at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre)

A unique opportunity exists for key stakeholders to participate in the SIRP trial and attend the Conference.

The key outcomes from the workshop will be presented to conference delegates at Australasian Aquaculture.

The Australian aquaculture industry and associated supply chains will be the major focus of this particular trial.

This fishery moved from input to output controls in 2008. As a result, fishing patterns have changed: effort in the fishery is now less dispersed over the grounds; high grading has become common-place, with consequent reduced CPUE; there has been a radical decrease in under-size crabs. The observed changes could be interpreted as either an outcome of overexploitation, or inadequate sampling. Clearly, there is an urgent need for this to be clarified.

Size and sex ratios of crystal crabs are related to their depth and longshore distribution and
inadequate sampling can provide misleading data. The cost of increasing data collection which has
traditionally been done at sea by technical officers from the Department of Fisheries would be
prohibitive for a small fishery such as this one. The solution is for industry to collect the data in the course of fishing by using fishermen to sample a small number of pots on each line that is hauled. Meetings have been arranged to discuss how fishermen might assist with the sampling and all quota holders in the fishery have expressed an enthusiastic willingness to participate.

This project will work with licence holders, Industry representatives and Department of Fisheries
representatives, to develop the most effective and efficient means of sampling the catch, recording the data, and training the fishermen who will become responsible for its collection.

The Fisheries (Coral Reef Fin Fish) Management Plan 2003 will be reviewed in 2012. The project aim is for stakeholders to co-operate in developing a way forward with respect to Research and Development (R and D) requirements in the consideration of resource sharing options as a part of the Management Plan. Catch sharing arrangements and associated R and D between sectors of the fishery - commercial, recreational and charter - need to be explored. The fish resources are accessed by various fishery users and are of interest to conservation bodies, management agencies and the general public. Currently, the CPUE of both major species are declining (FRDC 2008/103) and there are believed to be areas of over-exploitation.

In order to ensure equality between sectors and for the resource to return maximum economic yields while remaining biologically sustainable in the long-term, there is a need to explore management arrangements and the associated R and D requirements. Stakeholders must work co-operatively to identify issues and discuss R and D options with the aim for consensus on future management for sustainability of economic, environmental and social aspects. There needs to be a ‘vision for the fishery’ that is endorsed by stakeholders and resource sharing options should align with this vision.