ESD and fisheries: what, why, how and when? A stakeholders' workshop

Funded Activity Summary

The Research Subcommittee of the Standing Committee for Fisheries and Aquaculture (SCFA) has been developing a national approach to the implementation of Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD) in fisheries. Recently, Environment Australia (EA) has proposed changes to Schedule 4 of the Wildlife Protection Act in which the general exemption of commercial fish species from Schedule 4 be removed. It will be a requirement that "species are taken in a manner that is demonstrably ecologically sustainable" before being given an exemption from the Act. EA has developed a draft set of criteria for assessing sustainability of commercial fisheries. SCFA has formed a Sustainability Indicators Working Group to coordinate a national response. The Research Subcommittee presented a workplan for developing sustainability indicators to this Group on October 15. This was endorsed by SCFA on 26 October 1999.

These national initiatives should also been seen within the context of international developments such as FAO's 'Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries'and 'Guidelines for Developing Indicators for Sustainable Development for Wild Capture Fisheries', the Marine Stewardship Council's (MSC) 'Principles and Criteria for Sustainable Fishing' and ISO 14000. A number of Australian fisheries have expressed interest in obtaining MSC accreditation.

The interaction of fisheries and the environment including increased scrutiny of the industry by environment groups, MSC and Schedule 4, was one of the main themes at the recent Seafood Directions Conference.

Its against this background of major developments by a range of agencies, both national and international, that this workshop is proposed. To effectively implement ESD in fisheries will require a partnership between all stakeholders. The proposed workshop is endorsed by SCFA. It is consistent with the workplan developed by the Research Subcommittee. It is the first step to ensuring all participants are aware of all the issues, speak the same language and take ownership of the process. The workshop will identify stakeholder priorities and proved the basis for an action plan addressing these priorities.

The workshop will replace an FRDC-sponsored workshop which was scheduled to be held during 1999. It will be held in conjunction with the International Seafood Fair to be held at Geelong in March 2000.

Objectives:
1. To hold a workshop to ensure all stakeholders are aware of the issues and processes surrounding ESD and fisheries.
2. To identify SCFA, industry and other stakeholder priorities.
3. To provide the basis for an action plan for addressing stakeholder priorities.

Funded Activity Details

Start Date: 13-03-2000

End Date: 23-03-2002

Funding Scheme: Funding Scheme not available

Funding Amount: $57,927.49

Funder: Fisheries Research and Development Corporation

Research Topics

ANZSRC Field of Research (FoR)

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ANZSRC Socio-Economic Objective (SEO)

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Other Keywords

Aquaculture | Commercial Species | Sustainability | Workshop

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