Improving discard reporting

The Australian Fisheries Management Authority and our research partners use logbook data as a key component in management decisions for fisheries. Fishers accurately recording their catch and their discards are key to the quality of the data on decisions making.  

Fishing, like all food production, has some level of impact on the environment and one of the most direct and visible impacts from the harvest of commercial fish species is the unintentional catch of species that are not retained—known as ‘bycatch’.

In Commonwealth fisheries, bycatch might be seen when some parts of a catch may be discarded because they are undersize, the fisher may not hold enough quota, or incidental species are caught during fishing operations.

We have developed fishery specific Bycatch and Discard Workplans in consultation with industry and research partners to find practical and affordable solutions to minimising bycatch and the discarding of target species.

Data collection is essential to inform the bycatch and discard workplans, and we are reminding fishers to accurately record all discarded catch in their logbooks, including any part of the catch which is returned to the sea, alive or dead.

The recording instructions and the information that must be recorded, can be found in your logbooks, including:  

• the number of fish discarded
• the reason for discarding using the discard codes, and
• the discard weight.

Fishers are also required to report all interactions with Threatened, Endangered and Protected (TEP) species or listed migratory species under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act 1999 in their logbooks.

During an inspection, an AFMA Fisheries Officer will ask to review all of your logbook data, including your discard reports.

Failing to accurately complete logbooks is an offence under the Fisheries Management Act 1991 and may lead to compliance action. Such action may include:

• the issuing of cautions
• infringement notices (including fines)
• the suspension of fishing concessions, and /or
• prosecution. 

If left unmanaged, bycatch may have a detrimental impact on marine species and the marine environment. Bycatch can be minimised and accurate data collection is key to good fisheries management.