Fisheries Issues*

Objectives

With the aim of having ecologically sustainable fisheries that do not compromise the values of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (Marine Park) and the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area, the Fisheries Issues Group has the following objectives:

• To have strategic policy for the management of the fisheries resources of the Marine Park that: 
• Clearly states the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority’s (GBRMPA) position on fisheries
• Enables the GBRMPA to assess the ecological sustainability of fishing in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, including collaborating with the Department of the Environment and Water Resources in the strategic assessment of fisheries that occur within and adjacent to the Marine Park
• Protects rare, threatened and endangered species and communities together with their critical habitats
• Incorporates a comprehensive system of protected areas which are free from fishing and are representative of the bioregions within the Marine Park
• Is equitable across the community, meeting the traditional, social and cultural needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and maintains a socially acceptable balance of access for users of the Marine Park. 
• To have integration of fisheries and ecosystem management 
• To have an effective information base on the ecological and socio-economic impacts of fishing in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park so that sound decisions on resource sustainability may be made 
• To have strategies for the management of the fisheries resources of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park that are both understood and accepted by Great Barrier Reef Marine Park users and the community, and are complied with.
  

Terms of Reference

Within the overall goal and aims of the GBRMPA, the Fisheries Reef Advisory Committee (FRAC) will: 

• Provide advice to the GBRMPA on matters relating to the use of fisheries resources and ecosystem management 
• Work closely with the Fisheries Issues Group on matters as required by the Fisheries Issues Group 
• Interact with stakeholders and community groups, bringing forward issues and communicating GBRMPA policy decisions to those stakeholders 
• Interact with other Reef Advisory Committees on matters of joint interest towards achieving the GBRMPA’s aim and goals. 

Key Activities

The FRAC will, within the GBRMPA’s Strategic Work Programme, provide advice to the Fisheries Issues Group on: 

• Current issues in relation to the management of the fisheries resources of the Marine Park
• Various plans and policies developed by the GBRMPA and its Queensland partners in terms of their impacts on the sustainability of the fisheries resources of the Marine Park
• Priorities for research and monitoring
• The translation of research findings into policy options and management scenarios
• Priorities for investment in fisheries-related management planning, stock assessments and enforcement
• Methods and processes that will assist in assessing the sustainability of the fisheries resources of the Marine Park and the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area using as a basis the Australian Government’s Guidelines for the Ecologically Sustainable Management of Fisheries. 

^{* The MPA has asked that consideration should be given by the Committee to have the stated objectives of the Critical Issue Group reflect the economic significance of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.  (MPA 174/15)}