thought this should be put up for comment & keep people informed , especially about a potential shore base crab fishing licence
hezzy

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-04-15/mandurah-swimmer-crab-fishery-to-get-sustainable-status/7325728

Mandurah swimmer crab fishery set to be certified sustainable, in world first for recreational area
Landline
By Sean Murphy
Photo: Ten commercial fishers are licensed to catch crab at Mandurah.

The world's largest independent investigator of sustainable seafood is set to announce its first ever certification of a recreational fishery.

Key points:
•Mandurah crab fishery set to get sustainable status, in world first
•Commercial fishers hope the eco-label will lead to greater scrutiny of recreational fishers
•The number of recreational fishers using scoop nets is currently unknown

Scientists working for the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) are in the final stages of assessing an application for the blue swimmer crab fishery at Mandurah in Western Australia.

The state's amateur fishing lobby group, Recfishwest, is a co-client in the application for the MSC's eco-label, along with commercial fishers in the Peel Harvey estuary system, 80 kilometres south of Perth.

Recfishwest's chief executive Dr Andrew Rowland said its involvement was a reflection of the importance of the fishery to the recreational sector.

"We also want to see a very healthy fishery for generations to come, whether it be from a business perspective or whether it be from a lifestyle perspective or both. We understand we need to be in this together," he said.

The WA Government is investing $14.5 million in pre-assessments for MSC certification for about 50 commercial fisheries.

The MSC's WA-based information officer, Matt Watson, said the blue swimmer crab investigation was the first ever involving a recreational fishing group.

"Traditionally MSC has always been about market incentivisation, giving these guys access to new market premiums on the back of MSC certification," Mr Watson said.

"For the rec guys it's a new story really, it's more about social licence to operate, making sure the collaborative approach between the rec guys and the commercial guys is beneficial to all fishermen that do access this fishery.

"That's really important these days because resource access is increasing as an issue and if we get rid of that competitive element and make it collaborative, it's a really positive story for the management of this stock."

'It's the gold label: we are sustainable'
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Video: Mandurah crabbers seek stamp of sustainability (Photo by ABC's Glyn Jones) (ABC News)
Commercial fisher Damien Bell — who is one of 10 blue swimmer crab licence holders on the 130-square-kilometre estuary system — said the MSC eco-label would prove the fishery was sustainable.

"It's the gold label, you can't argue with it, so once we've got it we can hold it up to the world and actually say we are sustainable, how we are operating here is not harming the environment and we're here to provide good local fresh sustainable seafood to the Perth consumer," he said.

Mr Bell hoped the certification process and ongoing monitoring by the MSC would lead to greater scrutiny of recreational fishers and how many crabs they were taking.

"We share the resource, we are not the only ones accessing this resource, whether the figure be 50/50, 60/40, 70/30, who knows?" Mr Bell said.

"But there's a sharing factor that goes on and because they access X amount of hundred tonnes a year, we needed to make sure that we only weren't assessed, their activities also needed to be assessed and proven sustainable."

Photo: Damien Bell says a licensing system is needed for shore-based crabbers. (ABC: Robert Koenig-Luck)

WA's Department of Fisheries has a state-wide survey of recreational fishers to determine catch numbers of all species, but it only questions those using boats, not shore-based fishers.

At Mandurah, scoop netting is hugely popular with people of all ages able to catch crabs while wading in the shallows.

The department's supervising scientist for the MSC program, Dan Gaughan, admitted the numbers of fishers using scoop nets was unknown.

"I believe it's in the thousands, but until we do a more complete survey that includes the shore-based fishers with the boat based fishers, I don't really want to guess," he said.

Dr Gaughan said thermal imaging cameras were now being trialled as part of the MSC certification process.

"We've tried cameras if possible to get full 24-hour counts of fishers in some areas and see if that can be applied across the broader estuary," he said.

Dr Gaughan said the MSC scientists had also asked the department to develop a harvest strategy for blue swimmer crabs.

"A formal harvest strategy that lays out how to put the breaks on the fishery if required, so it sets reference points," he said.

"For example, using catch rates, so if the catch falls below those it invokes a management response that's been agreed to by both the commercial and recreational fishers."

Call for registration system to track recreational crabbing

Commercial fishers such as Mr Bell said a licensing system was needed for shore-based crabbers. At the moment only people setting crab traps from a boat need to be licenced.

"You can't have unlimited access, we don't have unlimited access and at the moment there is unlimited access on the recreational side of things," Mr Bell said.

Photo: Damien Bell hopes the certification will lead to greater scrutiny of recreational fishers (Landline: Sean Murphy)

Recfishwest said it would support a low cost registration system.

"We don't think it should be driven in terms of revenue so we wouldn't expect it to be a high cost-type licence arrangement, but some sort of registration where people have to be registered to participate in a fishery from a management perspective is something we think would help us get a better handle on the recreational catch estimates and ensure the ongoing sustainability of the fishery," Dr Rowland said.

He said Recfishwest was prepared to use the political power that came with representing an estimated 700,000 amateur fishers, but the MSC application in Mandurah showed it was willing to co-operate with the commercial fishing sector.

"I think in this day and age we're sophisticated enough to be able to work side-by-side and manage this resource so we can maximize what it returns back to the community more broadly," Dr Rowland said.

Watch the full report on Landline at midday this Sunday on ABC TV.