Why SA lobster fishers may be meeting their quota quicker thanks to adopting WA-style pots

South Australia’s southern rock lobster fishers have not been using the best pots, according to the results of a five-year study testing different designs, with the West Australian batten pot coming out on top.

When directly compared to the beehive pot, which is legislated for use in South Australia, batten pots improved catch efficiency rates by 38 per cent.

Dr Lachie McLeay, a senior research scientist with the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI), was part of the team working on the study.

“We also found that [the WA batten] pot reduced the amount of fish by-catch taken, so that is obviously good from a sustainability perspective,” Dr McLeay said.

Some fishers in SA’s northern zone have already decided to switch to batten pots.

“The pots are being fished under an exemption with the aim of regulating the pots formally in the future,” Dr McLeay said.

Making the switch

Emily Rowe is the shore manager for a lobster fishing business based in Port Lincoln who took part in the trial and then decided to make the permanent switch to batten pots this year.

“To begin with it was harder to notice the efficiency gain when you were using a small amount of pots,” Ms Rowe said.

“As we increased the number of pots used on the vessel it was obvious there was an increase [in] efficiency.”

The switch to the new pots will have a significant impact on the business, according to Ms Rowe, who has seen results that mirror the study.

“It reduces our operating costs overall. There has also been a reduction in by-catch,” she said.

South Australian Northern Zone Rock Lobster Association executive officer Kyri Toumazos said it would not be long before most professional fishers made the switch.

“Approximately 25 per cent of the fishing fleet have changed over to the new pot and we are seeing considerable improvement in catch rates,” he said.

“I would say the majority of fishers in the northern zone will eventually move over to the new pot type.”

Lobster fishing within the state runs on a quota system, and improving efficiency rates significantly impacts on professional fishing operations.

“You’re spending less days at sea, using less bait to catch your catch, you’re using less fuel, you’ve got a better and more environmentally-friendly footprint,” Mr Toumazos said.

Costing anywhere between $300 and $600 to have a new pot made, Mr Toumazos believes fishers will make back their investment quickly.

“With those levels of improved catch rates, within one season you will recover the capital costs of the gear,” he said.

Southern zone holding off

In the southern zone there has been less appetite for change.

Harsher conditions in the south-east of the state contributed to the one fisher involved in the trial pulling out part way through, with no professional fishers in the zone opting to switch over as yet.

“In the southern zone the bottom [of the sea in the fishery] is a lot harsher. This pot type may be less suitable,” Mr Toumazos said.

“Having said that, I am convinced that with more trials in the southern zone the benefits will be realised in that fishery as well.”

“It is a massive benefit in the long run to have this pot.”

Undertaken by the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation, SARDI, PIRSA, and both the Northern and Southern Zone Rock Lobster Associations, it was the most comprehensive study on pots undertaken in Australia.

The study conducted over 14,000 pot lifts in collaboration with 17 different fishers, equating to over 900 days of fishing.