The Hodgman Liberal Government is delivering on its election commitment to help rebuild rock lobster stocks through the East Coast Rock Lobster Relocation Program with funding of $315,000 over 3 years.
The program aims to relocate about 150,000 rock lobsters from the slow-growth, deep waters in the South West, to faster growth areas on the East Coast to boost biomass and spawning in the area and improve catch rates for commercial and recreational fishers.
A key to this project is the widespread support and co-management approach between the Government, the Tasmanian Rock Lobster Fishermen’s Association (TRLFA), the Tasmanian Association for Recreational Fishing (TARFish) and robust science undertaken by to the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS).
The TRLFA has run the operational side in conjunction with the existing industry West Coast translocation program, which has achieved efficiencies and minimised bureaucracy. IMAS has provided oversight and rigour for the operations and provided scientific observers on all the relocation sites.
The TRLFA’s role in the “on-the-water” operations and TARFish’s involvement in planning and oversight have been critical to the success of the program to date.
Year 1 of the project saw the relocation of 43,000 lobsters to the selected sites on the East Coast and the Year 2 target is 57,000 lobsters.
So far 15,500 lobsters have been moved with operations in place to move the remainder by mid‑February.
The East Coast Relocation Program supports a 10-year strategy to increase rock lobster stock levels and has explicit targets and performance measures to see stocks improve to levels not seen for many years.
I am delighted that the project is progressing successfully with obvious benefits for both recreational and commercial fishers, supporting jobs in regional Tasmania, and further enhancing Tasmania’s reputation for world class seafood and produce.
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