2023 was a huge year for our Commonwealth fishers

The gross value of Commonwealth fisheries in 2023 was estimated to be AUD $400 million dollars. Commonwealth fisheries, covering eight million km2 of water that extends from three nautical miles to the limit of the Australian Fishing Zone, sustainably produced a huge amount of high-quality sea food with over 37,800 tonnes delivered to local and international markets. (ref: ABARES 2023)

Ensuring Australia’s Commonwealth fisheries are among the best managed fisheries in the world, AFMA’s Observers spent 2,130 days at sea and our fishery officers conducted 264 boat inspections, 148 commonwealth port visits and 10 at sea patrols. (AFMA Annual Report 22 –23)

2023 also saw many important milestones, including:

• The launch of AFMA’s Fish Talk app to help fisheries officers break down the language barrier when conducting at-sea or in-port inspections of foreign fishing vessels.
• The reopening of the black Teatfish season for fishing in the Torres Strait after a 20-year closure thanks to a concerted conservation and stock restoration effort.
• The removal of two ghost nets, 19 fish aggregating devices and marine debris from Australian waters.
• The implementation of five new trawl closures in the South East Trawl Fishery, assisting Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry in delivering the $20 million South East Trawl Fishery structural adjustment package to facilitate the rebuilding of several Commonwealth managed species.
• Maintaining the Marine Stewardship Council certification for many Commonwealth fisheries and species including the Eastern Tuna and Billfish fishery, Northern Prawn fishery, Great Australian Bight Trawl fishery, Macquarie Island and Heard and Macdonald Islands Toothfish fisheries, midwater trawl sector of the Small Pelagic Fishery, royal red prawns, blue grenadier and Bass Strait scallops.
• AFMA's International Compliance and Engagement Program supporting public information campaigns and monitoring, control and surveillance training across the Indo-pacific region.

We are looking forward to another big year in 2024

• We are committed to protecting our industry by working in partnership with other Australian Government agencies and our international counterparts to detect and deter illegal foreign fishing activity in Australian waters.

• We continue to work with fishers and research partners to implement best-practice management, including understanding and accounting for the risks of climate change and its impact on our fisheries.

• We remain dedicated to helping protect our precious marine environment and protected and endangered species from marine debris, particularly ghost nets.

• We are committed to protecting the traditional way of life and livelihood of Torres Strait Traditional Inhabitants through traditional fishing.