fisheries – Page 14 – ANGFA Queensland

Plastic for dinner? Big fish eat more than you expect

Jul 252013

Original story at Phys.org

Large, predatory fishes from the offshore waters around Hawai'i have been ingesting a surprisingly large amount of plastic and other marine debris, according to new research by scientists at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa. These observations are the first of their kind in scope and in number, and they suggest that more attention should be given to marine debris in subsurface waters, as well as to the potential food web implications for human consumption.

Examples of marine debris found in fish stomachs

Over a six-year period, researchers investigated the stomach contents of 595 fish representing 10 predatory open-ocean species, including commercially valuable tunas and billfishes. Seven of the 10 species were found have ingested some form of debris, with varying degrees of frequency.

"One of the species we looked at is opah, or the moonfish (Lampris guttatus), a delectable and popular fish consumed in Hawai'i and around the world," said Anela Choy, a UH M?noa graduate student and lead author of the study, which was recently published in the scientific journal Marine Ecology Progress Series. "In the two species found in Hawaiian waters, 58 percent of the small-eye opah and 43 percent of the big-eye opah had ingested some kind of debris. This was based on looking into the stomachs of almost 140 opah.

"Another large fish species, the longnosed lancetfish (Alepisaurus ferox), had a 30 percent debris ingestion incidence," continued Choy. "Although this is not a species consumed by humans, it is a very common fish in open ocean waters globally and is very frequently caught by fisherman around Hawai'i."

The study was based on observations collected during multiyear diet studies, the primary objective of which was to describe food habits and trophic ecology of large fish species in the region, according to Choy and her co-author Jeff Drazen, an associate professor in the Oceanography Department of UH M?noa's School of Ocean and Earth Sciences and Technology (SOEST).

From sea birds to turtles to small fish, and even to bottom-dwelling echinoderms like sea cucumbers, many types of marine animals are known to ingest marine debris. Still, despite the prevalence of studies documenting the environmental implications of plastic debris in the world's oceans, there have been few reports of plastic ingestion by large marine fishes.

"What was most surprising was that the fish that most frequently ingested debris are all thought to be deeper water species, generally those that live beneath the sunlit upper 500 to 600 feet of the water column," Choy said. "Deeper water fishes may have been coming up close to the surface to ingest debris, which is an unusual and unexpected behavior."

Or the debris could be coming to them. Buoyant plastics are known to sink into the deep ocean when waterlogged or perhaps weighted down by algae or encrusted by small sea animals. Wind-driven ocean mixing or water currents could also possibly transport debris to deeper waters.

The effects of plastic ingestion on the health of these predatory fishes remain uncertain. Researchers don't know how long debris stays in the stomachs of large fishes, or whether they are able to pass such debris. Many plastics are known to absorb or take up PCBs, organochlorine pesticides, metals, and petroleum hydrocarbons from sea water. However, it is not known whether the toxins are transmitted to the fish that consumes the plastic, or ultimately to humans who consume the fish.

Redmap Queensland

community, fisheries, waterways/wetlands, wildlife

Jul 252013

Octopus tetricus - Gloomy Octopus or Common Sydney Octopus. © Kevin Deacon, Australian Museum

It looks like the gloomy octopus may be moving its home further south; followed by crimson banded wrasse and rock cale. Redmap has developed a ‘report card’ to assess and report potential shifts in the ranges of fish and marine species along the Tasmanian coast. And all using the observations collected by divers and fishers in Tasmania (where Redmap started 3 years ago before it launched nationally). Check out which fish may be on the move in the Report Card.

The Redmap website invites you to share sightings of fish and marine critters that you think are ‘uncommon’ and do not usually live along your coastline. Over time, Redmap will use your ‘citizen science’ data and photos to sketch a picture of Australian fish and marine species that may be extending their distribution range – a.k.a shifting house - in response to changes in the marine environment, such as warming seas.

Redmap allows Australians to collect their own marine data, share stories and upload photos of ‘unusual’ sightings. Redmap is science created by the people for the people.

Anglers ignore no-fishing zone around wreck

community, fisheries, government

Jul 212013

Original story by Janine Hill, Sunshine Coast Daily

ROGUE anglers are blatantly ignoring the conservation zone around the wreck of the HMAS Brisbane, risking thousands of dollars in fines to catch fish in the protected area.

Commercial dive operators permitted to enter the HMAS Brisbane Conservation Park say they are constantly finding evidence of fishing on the wreck. Photo: Greg Riddell

Commercial dive operators permitted to enter the HMAS Brisbane Conservation Park say they are constantly finding evidence of fishing on the wreck.

In one instance, a man was spotted spear-fishing while scuba-diving around the artificial reef. Entry to the park is by permit only. General tourism operations, fishing, boating and other watercraft activities are not permitted at the site. Fines range up to $8800.

Mike McKinnon, of Scuba World at Mooloolaba, said that fresh evidence of fishing was visible on the wreck several times a week.

"WE'RE always finding hooks and lines on one of the transit lines that lead down to the ship that the divers follow, or we just find them on the wreck itself," he said.

"We see fish with hooks in their mouths."

A spokesman for Sunreef Scuba Diving Services said it was not unusual to find the skeletons of fish that had been filleted aboard boats above the wreck.

Both businesses have begun photographing intruding vessels and reporting them to authorities.

So far, only one person has been hit with a $330 fine in the past three months.

Both dive operators said Parks and Wildlife officers did their best, but had to cover a large area and could not be at the park around the clock.

Mr McKinnon said most of the people he approached claimed they had no idea they needed a permit.

But neither he nor Sunreef's spokesman believed them.

"There's a percentage where I would like to say it's ignorance, but it's marked on every chart as a conservation zone," Sunreef's spokesman said.

"It's been out there for eight years. Locals should know. If guys have got their own boat, they usually have their own charts and GPS.

"There's so many green zones you can barely fish anywhere without thinking about it.

"If they're not thinking about it, they should be."

Regional director for the Department of National Parks, Recreation, Sport and Racing, Peter Wright, said rangers continued to conduct patrols and monitor compliance in the park.

The HMAS Brisbane was scuttled on July 31, 2005 to form an artificial reef for the diving industry.

It lies in 28m of water, about 9km offshore from Mooloolaba.

Entry is prohibited without a permit or written approval.

Take the kids fishing

community, fisheries

Jul 212013

Original story by Lucy Martin, the Daily Mercury

HAVE a great day out with the kids.

Glenn Fahy admires the beauty of the Pioneer River ahead of the junior fishing competition. Photo: Tony Martin

Glenn Fahy has the perfect opportunity for the family to enjoy the great outdoors.

Mr Fahy from Mackay Recreational Fishing Alliance and Sunfish said the Pioneer River was one the best kept secrets when it comes to fishing.

"It's one of only three blue rivers in Australia," Mr Fahy said.

Sit by the Pioneer River and have some quality family time while the children take part in a junior fishing competition.

Children will have the chance to win prizes for the longest fish caught from the iconic Mackay river.

"We don't go by weight," Mr Fahy said.

And parents might learn a thing or two from the kids.

"Children can be fantastic anglers," Mr Fahy said.

The river can offer whiting, bream and flathead.

"Towards the mouth of the river you can get queenies, trevally and cod," Mr Fahy said.

While fishing with his grandson Ned, Mr Fahy once caught 22 flathead in one day.

"I kept four of them," he said.

Children can fish anywhere on the river during the competition - either on shore or off.

Once registered, kids will receive a wristband.

"We are trying out the bands this year because we found some people were double-dipping the prizes last year," Mr Fahy said.

About 156 kids took part in last year's competition and every child gets a prize of some sort.

"Last year they were coming back with buckets full of fish," he said.

As long as the fish are legal they will be measured for the competition.

Mr Fahy said taking a kid out to fish was a great family day out.

At the recent Sunfish "Take your kid fishing day", about 300 took part in fishing at Shoal Point.

The junior fishing competition will be held on August 4 and is open to children and teens aged between 5 and 15 years.

Mr Fahy said a big thanks had to go to Neil Elworthy of Tackle World Mackay for his contribution to the competition.

For more information on how to register contact Glenn Fahy on 4955 0665.

Swan River ‘worse than it looks’

fisheries, waterways/wetlands, wildlife

Jul 192013

Original story by Daniel Mercer, The West Australian

The Swan River is like a cemetery, according to world-renowned WA water expert Jorg Imberger.

The University of WA professor makes the comparison to illustrate that not everything is as it seems.

At face value it appears peaceful, picturesque even, but look below the surface and there is death and decay.

Dying trees on the Swan River near Garratt Road Bridge. Picture: Mogens Johansen, The West Australian

"If you look at the surface, the river still looks quite good," Professor Imberger said. "It's unfortunate because it's a veneer."

For more than 25 years, Professor Imberger and his team of scientists at UWA's Centre for Water Research have been checking the pulse of the river with increasing concern.

Last week, they gave The West Australian an insight into their work as they tested the water quality from Fremantle, just before it meets the Indian Ocean, to Guildford, almost 50km upstream.

Although the results were markedly better than those taken as recently as June, they paint a picture of a river system battling for the vital signs that indicate life, let alone healthiness.

Oxygen levels, apart from the ocean-like environment at the river mouth in Fremantle, were modest or low, and salinity and chlorophyll concentrations - a key precursor to algal blooms - were elevated.

Crucially, the results also underlined an entrenched and damaging phenomenon winding an increasingly tight grip around the Swan - a process known as stratification.

Heavy seawater moves upstream, forcing fresher water flowing downstream over the top.

The heavier water, which used to be washed out to sea every year before the big decline in Perth's winter rainfall, now effectively sits at the bottom and stagnates, allowing organic material in it to break down and consume oxygen.

The upshot, Professor Imberger said, was that the lower depths of the Swan River could become deaths zones in which no life could survive.

"In any other place in the world … it would be classified as a disaster," Professor Imberger said. "The problem is it's hidden here. A few dolphins come in at the surface and people think, 'Oh, it looks great, what are you talking about?' "

The Swan River Trust concedes the river is struggling with the effects of a drying climate and urban encroachment but disputes it is dead in parts or even dying.

River systems manager Mark Cugley points to anecdotal evidence that numbers of fish, including black bream, are abundant and populations of blue manna crabs, prawns and cobblers might be recovering.

Mr Cugley said low oxygen levels of the kind recorded last week were "not ideal" but were not an immediate danger.

He touches on the trust's $40 million healthy rivers action plan to describe how the agency was focused on reducing nutrients entering the river to improve its health.

Dismissing claims of abundant fish life as "nonsense", Professor Imberger says the Swan's plight is serious and in the short term consideration should be given to a barrage under Stirling Bridge to stop intrusion of saltwater upstream.

Common waters needed on fish

fisheries, government

Jul 192013

Original story by Bill Hoffman, The Queensland Times

FISH swim between states and Commonwealth waters daily but Australia still lacks a national standard that would allow better management of the resource for both commercial and recreational purposes and ecosystem health.

Fisherman on the North Shore of Maroochydore fish for tailor during the winter. Photo Nicholas Falconer, Sunshine Coast Daily

Dr Trevor Ward, who wrote the marine section of the 2011 Australian State of the Environment Report, said without a standard there would be no integrated approach to the management of the precious national resource.

He said there was an overwhelming need to increase the stock of all fish species, a move that would enable both the commercial and recreational sectors to increase catches. Dr Ward argues that ultimately only closed marine areas would allow that to occur.

Ideally stocks should be maintained at 75% of their original biomass but Dr Ward said a figure of between 40-50% would be a worthwhile initial target.

Dr Ward was commenting after the release of data that shows the commercial catch of tailor on the Cooloola-Fraser coast has fallen substantially in the past decade.

He said a huge problem was that Australia had no common language around fish management and five or six different ways of reporting sustainability.

The Queensland Government last week said the number of sustainable fish species in Queensland had risen from 28 to 31 with only one of 75, snapper, considered unsustainable with the rest being "uncertain" or "undefined".

Dr Ward said the parameters used by fisheries' managers across Australia to define sustainability were ecologically very low and in many cases represented as little as 25% of what total numbers would be if no fishing occurred.

At those levels, stocks had only limited resilience to the impacts of climate change, pests, fishing, chemical run-off and seasonal weather variations.

"Ecologists argue that sustainable fishing should maintain 75% of the unfished biomass," he said.

"The irony is that if it was at 75% - and it would take a big leap to get there - catches could be doubled from what they are now.

"It would provide security and certainty."

Dr Ward said ultimately closing areas in the right places was the only way forward that would benefit the commercial and recreational sectors.

Globally the approach had proved infinitely more successful than bag and size limits which did not control the total catch.

"The truth is that in smart fishing systems, commercial fishermen make more money when closed areas are put where they are needed."

He said the fishing industry argument was simply wrong that fisheries could only be properly managed when they had total access.

QPWS & DAFF fail to police illegal netting and fish dumping on Moreton, Sunfish

community, fisheries, government

Jul 192013

Original story by Brian Williams, The Courier-Mail

ILLEGAL netting and dumping of fish has been occurring on Moreton Island for more than five years and successive governments have done nothing about it, says recreational fishing group Sunfish.

Fish dumped at Yellow Patch on the northern tip of Moreton Island off Brisbane.

Spokeswoman Judy Lynne said she had contacted the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service and Queensland Fisheries more than 10 times over the past five years with no results.

Ms Lynne said the Government knew who was behind the issue because many people had reported them but no prosecutions had been launched because officials never bothered to police the area.

Island residents and recreational fishers have taken photographs of tonnes of fish dumped at a creek at Yellow Patch on the northern end of the island off Brisbane about a week ago.

"Everyone knows who it is. People phone up the Government about it but they do nothing,'' she said. "Until they start to police things, it will continue.''

A Fisheries Queensland spokeswoman said 11 complaints had been recorded about fishing activities on Moreton over the past three years.

"Moreton Island is regularly patrolled, however a person needs to be caught in the act of illegal fishing, or have strong evidence linking them to the act, in order for a fine or prosecution to be enforced,'' she said.

Ms Lynne said illegal fishing occurred in a yellow zone at Yellow Patch under the Moreton Bay Marine Park Zoning Plan.

"Fisheries used to have a flying squad to handle these sorts of things but it's been disbanded,'' she said. "This has got to be policed. We need action.''

Fisheries and Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service officers were investigating the dumping of bycatch.

The Fisheries spokeswoman said the flying squad had not been disbanded, rather it was renamed the Surveillance and Investigation Unit and some limited fishing was allowed in yellow zones.

A recreational fisher said there was no policing on the island.

"It's disgraceful what's happening over there,'' he said. "People are trying to sell undersize fish, other stuff that's gone off is being dumped and people are just not following the rules. They are running rampant and the Government is allowing it.''

Antarctic marine park plan frozen out

fisheries, government, threatened species, waterways/wetlands, wildlife

Jul 172013

Original story by at The Age

An attempt by Australia to set up some of the world's largest marine reserves in Antarctica has been blocked at a meeting in Germany.

Fishing nations Russia and Ukraine questioned the legality of the move, according to Terje Lobach, chairman of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources.

More protection sought: A king penguin during sunset at its Auster rookery near the Australian research station of Mawson. Photo: AFP

Mr Lobach said that many nations in the organisation also had doubts about the size of one of the reserves, a 2.6 million-square-kilometre proposal for the Ross Sea.

The rocky passage of marine reserve plans led their main non-government advocate, the Antarctic Oceans Alliance, to say their future was in doubt before Tuesday's final session of the meeting in Bremerhaven.

Australia, France and the European Union put forward a network of seven reserves in waters covering 1.63 million square kilometres of eastern Antarctic waters, and the US joined New Zealand in proposing the Ross Sea reserve.

Advocates say they would give extra protection to some of the world's largest wild ocean areas, where species such as penguins, seabirds, seals and whales live largely unharmed.

Inside the commission, opposition to the reserves emerged eight months ago at its annual meeting in Hobart, and it was reinforced at an Antarctic Treaty meeting in May where a resolution of general support was scotched. Now at a rare special meeting of the commission, long-time Antarctic fishing nations are still holding out.

''The issue was raised, I can say, by Russia and the question was also raised by Ukraine, whether [the commission] really has the competence of establishing [marine protected areas],'' Mr Lobach said at a news conference.

He said many lawyers in the closed meeting spoke against Russia and Ukraine, and definitely said the commission had the power and mandate to establish protected areas in the high seas.

''The challenge is, of course, that we are working under consensus rule,'' Mr Lobach said. ''So we have to have everybody on board to have an agreement.''

An informed source told Fairfax Media that Russia did not believe other commission countries were ''behaving properly''.

But Steve Campbell, director of the Antarctic Ocean Alliance, said Russia and Ukraine's challenges to legality were groundless.

Commission executive secretary Andrew Wright said delegates were considering whether to open up some areas that were now closed to ''research fishing'' to demonstrate that the marine reserves system was not an attempt to exclude fishing.

''The commission … is still open to suggestions in terms of research fishing that might be conducted in areas that have been closed to fishing for several years,'' Mr Wright said.

Fish to feed on vegie-fed flies

fisheries

Jul 162013

Original story at ABC Rural

A number of cages set up at Cone Bay in WA's Kimberley for a fish farm in the aquaculture zone, 2013. Marine Produce Australia

Research shows wasted vegetables could be used to make fish food to support the aquaculture industry.

According to industry body Ausveg, growers are producing more than 277,000 tonnes of excess product each year.

Around 25 per cent of vegetables produced in Australia go to waste, at a cost to the industry of about $155 million.

Vegetables that are out of specification, damaged, blemished or simply not worth harvesting often stay on the farm to rot.

To combat the problem, Dr Jenny Ekman, of Applied Horticulture Research, has been using funds from the National Vegetable Levy to find alternative uses for crop.

"One of our more interesting ideas was using the waste from vegetables to feed the insects which could then be used to feed aquaculture fish," she said.

Dr Ekman says a project like this does not need a co-ordinated approach and could start at a grassroots level.

"A vegetable grower could set up a small facility where they are producing insects on site," she said.

"That would save transport costs because rather than transporting a huge bulk of vegetables you just transfer a smaller, lighter amount of insects.

"It's not something that requires a lot of technology or equipment.

Black soldier fly larvae eat most vegetable waste. Photo: blacksoldierflyblog.com

"You just need some plastic tubs and a way of collecting the eggs from the adults and then it can be self-sustaining.

"That's the sort of thing we would like to investigate, but I think it would be quite possible."

Such a scheme could be of benefit to high-cost aquaculture industries.

Fish meal is made using fish caught in the wild, but Dr Ekman says insects would be a more sustainable and cheaper source of protein.

"Fish meal from wild caught fish in not sustainable in the long term," she said.

"We've got increasing demand for fish at the same time as falling catches, so you'd think aquaculture should be the way to go.

"But if we have to feed those aquaculture fish on wild caught fish, then we're no better off than we were in the first place.

"So finding alternative sources of protein for carnivorous fish such as salmon and trout is an interesting area.

"There's been a lot of work done on it already, but there hasn't been consideration to how you could produce insects on waste from the vegetable industry.

AUSVEG says 2.2 kilos of vegetables could produce 1 kilo of insects such as black soldier flies.

Other options for wasted vegetables include biogas production through anaerobic digestion to produce methane or using crops to make food flavourings.

Decision due on massive Antarctic marine sanctuaries

fisheries, government, waterways/wetlands, wildlife

Jul 162013

Proposed marine protected areas on the east Antarctic coastal region

Original story by Matt McGrath, BBC News

Negotiators meeting in Germany are set to decide on the establishment of the world's biggest marine reserves in Antarctica.

Scientists are hoping the plans for protected areas in the Ross Sea and in Eastern Antarctica will be supported.

But a previous attempt failed to get the necessary backing of all 25 members involved.

And there are worries that countries including Russia could again scupper the proposal.

The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) is made up of countries with an interest in the Southern Ocean, and includes Australia, the US, the UK, China and Russia among its members. Any decisions taken require consensus among all parties.

This meeting in Bremerhaven has been called to deal specifically with proposals for the establishment of reserves that would ban fishing and protect species including seals and penguins. If successful the plans would more than double the area of the world's oceans that are protected.

The proposed protected zone in the Ross Sea is home to a large proportion of the world's Adelie penguins

Protecting penguins

The idea of creating marine protected areas has been around for several years - but when it came to a decision late last October, several countries including Russia, the Ukraine and China had reservations and the meeting ran out of time.

The US and New Zealand are again backing a proposal to create a marine protected zone in the Ross Sea with a total area of 2.3m sq km, making it the biggest in the world.

According to Andrea Kavanagh, director of the Pew Charitable Trusts' Southern Ocean campaign, this would have a major benefits for a range of species.

"While it is called the Ross Sea, a portion of it is frozen solid 365 a year and provides a critical habitat for hundreds of species of birds, mammals, fish and invertebrates including 38% of the world's Adelie penguins and 26% of the world's Emperor penguins," she said.

Another proposal from Australia, France and the European Union would create protected areas in East Antarctica covering around 1.63m sq km.

Australia's minister for environment, Mark Butler MP, said the East Antarctic proposal would be a significant undertaking but would be about more than just protecting species.

"The MPA also includes scientific reference areas where we can measure long term changes and natural variability - essential pieces of information to ensure the conservation of key features and the sustainability of fishing in the region," he said.

Fishing is a big sticking point with species like krill and patagonian toothfish proving highly lucrative for boats from a range of countries, including South Korea, Norway and Japan.

There has been rapid growth in fishing for Antarctic krill driven by demand for Omega-3 oil supplements

In for the krill

The tiny shrimp like Antarctic krill are a key element of the ecosystem, as they are part of the diet of whales, penguins, seals and sea birds.

However demand for krill has risen sharply in recent years thanks to growing interest in Omega-3 dietary supplements.

In the months since the last meeting in Tasmania, diplomats have been working hard to stress the scientific case for ending fishing in these regions of Antarctica.

"There were a number of issues raised by countries including China, Russia and the Ukraine, they related to issues such as access to fishing and there were questions about the science," Bob Zuur, from campaigners WWF.

"The proponents have heard those concerns and have prepared detailed responses - we expect that those issues have now been addressed."

Environmentalists are worried that there may be attempts at a compromise, with a proposal from Norway for what's termed a "sunset clause".

Supported by Russia and Japan it would mean the protected areas in the East Antarctic would be reviewed in 2064 and the Ross Sea in 2043. Campaigners say that this is an unusual idea, given that protected areas on land or in the seas are usually designated in perpetuity.

If the meeting doesn't come to a decision or it is likely that unanimity can't be achieved, it is possible that the meeting will refer the issue forward to CCAMLR's annual gathering towards the end of this year.

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