The Government has established a taskforce and is trialling fishing gear modifications to reduce whale interactions with rock lobster fishing, aiming for mandatory mitigation methods by the 2014 whale migration.

AnsweredQoN 1613Legislative Assembly
Asked
5 December 2013
Portfolio
Fisheries

QuestionView source ↗

What measures has the Government implemented to minimize the number of interactions between whales and western rock lobster fishing operations?

AnswerView source ↗

Answered
19 February 2014
Responded by
Minister for Fisheries
Response time
76 days
The Government has formed a Ministerial Taskforce to oversee the development and implementation of appropriate mitigation strategies. The Department of Fisheries has obtained funding from the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation funding to trial the practicality from a commercial fishing perspective of various fishing gear modifications. Those methods that prove practical will be trialled more widely during the next whale migration season. It is intended that all west coast rock lobster fishers who wish to operate during the humpback whale migration must use an approved mitigation method by the start of the 2014 humpback whale migration period.

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