Development plan for deep sea crab fishery

A development plan is to be produced for the deep sea crab fishery in Western Australian water, Fisheries Minister Gordon Hill announced today.

Deep sea crabs are taken by rock lobster pots and specialised traps in waters deeper than 140 metres.

"The new management arrangements will restrict the sale of deep sea crabs taken in rock lobster pots and traps to those licence holders who can demonstrate a level of commitment to the fishery," Mr Hill said today.

An Offshore Constitutional Settlement (OCS) arrangement made in 1988 gives the State jurisdiction over trapping from the shoreline out to the 200-metre depth contour.

"I have approached the Commonwealth Government to effectively extend the State's jurisdiction to the limits of the Australian Fishing Zone for the taking of two species of deep sea crab by the trapping method," the Minister said.

"This will allow the orderly development of the fishery and lower the risk of both overcapitalisation by industry and the overfishing of crab stocks.

A three-year development plan for the fishery will begin on April 1, 1992.

A limited number of licences will be issued to individuals or enterprises who can demonstrate prior commitment to the development of this fishery through significant catch history over the past two years, or who demonstrate considerable efforts in the fields of market research, catching methods and processing technology in this period.

"All rock lobster fishermen and all wetline fishermen with endorsements to use traps will be invited to apply and applications received before November 1991 will also be considered," Mr Hill said.

"Performance criteria will apply to licences involved in the fishery and access arrangements will be reviewed annually to ensure development does proceed."