AUSTRALIA | The ABARES annual assessment of Commonwealth fish stocks has found that most stocks assessed were not overfished or subject to overfishing.
The ABARES Fishery Status Reports 2024 provide an annual, independent assessment of Commonwealth-managed fisheries' biological and economic status.
ABARES Executive Director Dr Jared Greenville said the 2024 Fishery status reports indicated that Commonwealth fisheries remain well-managed.
“Of the 102 stocks assessed, only three changed status, but the overall result was the same as last year with 67 stocks classified as not overfished and 75 classified as not subject to overfishing,” said Dr Greenville.
“In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of stocks with uncertain status and a small increase in the number of stocks assessed as overfished or subject to overfishing.”
The report highlighted several pressures on sustainable fisheries management. These include challenges to monitoring and responding to the impacts of ongoing climate change and a decline in the quality and quantity of data needed to undertake stock assessments.
Dr Greenville emphasised the importance of regularly monitoring fish stocks to allow fisheries management decisions to be adaptive and to direct efforts to improve data collection.
“That said, the management systems for Commonwealth fisheries are well established. We’re in a good position to tackle these challenges and shore up long-term sustainability for our fish stocks.”
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