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Video Lobster numbers decline

Leah MacLennan

Fishermen are struggling to meet quotas as the southern rock lobster catches steadily decline.


IAN HENSCHKE, PRESENTER: The southern rock lobster is one of the state's great delicacies and a big export earner but the last two seasons haven't been great with fishermen struggling to catch their quotas and jobs being shed.

Leah McClennan has just been to the south east and as she explains it's still a mystery why the catch has dropped.

LEAH MCLENNAN, REPORTER: The early bird may catch the worm but these fishermen are up at the crack of down hoping to catch something much more valuable.

They were once a humble local seafood known as crayfish but the southern rock lobster is now a delicacy served up at the finest restaurants around the world and a big earner of export dollars.

Joel Redman and his brother Scott are third generation crayfishermen in the state's south east. For the last few decades the industry has seemed like a lucrative business.

But while the price is still up the catch has gone into decline.

JoeL REDMAN, S.E PROFESSIONAL FISHERMANS ASSOC: We're probably catching about half what we'd like to be catching just at the present time. In terms of the last few years, you know, we're definitely down and we are definitely finding that a challenge in terms of both personal business and also trying to account for management issues within the fishery.

But it's something that you have to live with being involved in a primary industry. It would always be great to be better but it is not always possible.

LEAH MCLENNAN: It's not just Joel Redman's catch that's down this season. He says the catch is down 15 per cent right across the southern rock lobster zone which stretches from the top of the Coorong to the Victorian border.

Joel Redman says while catches peaked at all time highs seven years ago the catch has been in decline ever since and well below average for the last two years.

JoeL REDMAN: We've got a lot of flow on economic benefit in the region, we've got processors who are directly involved with the fishing. But we've also got a lot of businesses that rely on a health fishery, as much as any other regional primary industry to drive growth within small coastal towns and a lot of businesses besides.

So to have a fishery that's in a decline and certainly not performing to where we'd like it, is something that everybody seems to be committed to trying to understand.

LEAH MCLENNAN: The problem is no one does yet. The rock lobster industry is highly regulated with size limits, quotas and a limited season.

Martin Smallridge is with the state primary industries department and he says a study is being conducted to see why the catch is continuing to decline despite the regulations.

MARTIN SMALLRIDGE, PRIMARY INDUSTRIES AND RESOURCES SA: Yeah it is clear one of the reasons for the decline is there has been less recruitment so that means that the reproduction hasn't been as successful in the fishery for fear of the smaller ones coming through.

So that's one of the things that we're really looking at is the relationship between fish are about one year old through to through to fish that are about four year old and the relationship to then the ones that we catch a year later.

So one of the things the research team really looks closely at is that reproductive success because that's an indicator of how many fish we are going to catch in future years.

LEAH MCLENNAN: Joel Redman says there could be many factors behind the lack of crayfish being caught.

There's been two cold upwellings in the last two years which have deposited nutrients on the sea bed. That may have led to an abundance of food for the crayfish making them less likely to venture into pots. He says the decline may also be part of a natural cycle.

JoeL REDMAN: If the fisheries threatened that that is one management option is to reduce the quota. There's also a host of other complementary options that may or may not be explored.

There's a lot of discussion across the fishery about ways that we can reduce pressure on the fishery and hopefully enhance sustainability without actually reducing quite as much further.

Obviously we've been on the end of a 500 tonne cut over the last two seasons now that directly impacts on the viability of certain operators. But the sustainability of the fishery has to come first although it has to be tempered with some kind of empathy towards the operators.

LEAH MCLENNAN: Andrew Lawrie's family has been in the crayfishing business for generations. He runs a processing plant in Robe and says the drop in the catch is costing jobs.

ANDREW LAWRIE, SKY SEAFOODS: We've already seen it this year with some of the deckhands, they've actually left the boats and moved to other industries cause they weren't earning any money. It goes all the way down the line. If you consider if you've lost 800 ton on an average of $50 a kilo that is a lot of money missing in the south east.

So it goes not only to the fishermen, it goes to ourselves, to our families, to our employees families even to the local newsagent and butcher and it works its way down the line completely.

LEAH MCLENNAN: The South Australian research and development institute's report on the crayfish industry won't be released for several months and Martin Smallridge says no decisions on next year's quota will be made until August.

But rumours are already circulating and all indications are a reduction is on the way.

MARTIN SMALLRIDGE: I guess where we think we're at with this fishery though is we do have to reduce the catch. It's clear the amount of effort it's taking to catch the fish has been increasing steadily at the same time as the total catch has been decreasing.

So from our perspective it's really clear that we do have to reduce the catch and try and reduce that effort and give the stock a chance to rebuild.

LEAH MCLENNAN: While almost everyone in the industry agrees they must be sustainable to ensure their future a cut in quotas will impose further hardship on an industry that is already starting to run into trouble.

ANDREW LAWRIE: The run on effect there is that China is our big customer and we have ridden on China's back with our price, that's why the price of lobster's have been so high the last ten or 15 years because is a live market.

If we do not supply them, there is no continuity with any volume then we are then in danger of becoming a second rate zone so they'll go elsewhere for their lobster and they'll just use us to back up when they need extra fish.

JoeL REDMAN: The rock lobster industry is South Australia's biggest seafood industry in terms of production size and also economic turn over to the state. We generate about up to $200 million in direct and indirect revenue to South Australia so yeah we are a pretty important part of the seafood sector for sure.

7.30 South Australia