Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery (SESSF)

This strategy has been developed to reduce and monitor interactions between Australian sea lions and gillnets used by Commonwealth shark fishers in the Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery. AFMA and industry members have supported research into fishery interactions with Australian sea lions. A recent report produced by the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI) suggests that bycatch mortality may be limiting the recovery of most colonies in South Australia. Gillnet fishing effort and the corresponding risk to sea lions in South Australian waters peaked in 1987 with nearly 43,000km of net set. Management actions, including the introduction of shark quotas and the implementation of the Commonwealth Harvest Strategy Policy have significantly reduced the fishing effort. In recent years, less than 18,000km of net have been set. Since 2000 AFMA has introduced a number of closures and other measures that provide protection to Australian sea lions. In response to preliminary results from the SARDI research, AFMA and industry introduced voluntary closures in waters within 7.3km (equivalen