Advice on legislation or legal policy issues contained in this paper is provided for use in parliamentary debate and for related parliamentary purposes. This paper is not professional legal opinion.
Briefing Paper No. 15/1997 by J. Wilkinson
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SUMMARY
Australian waters, through having a relatively low level of nutrients, tend not
to sustain large fish population (pp.4-5). NSW estuaries and lakes, on the
other and, are relatively high in nutrients (pp.5-6).
NSW estuaries and lakes, on the other hand, are relatively high in nutrients
(pp.5-6).
NSW commercial fishing began in a very informal fashion and, in a number of
ways, has remained a family-based, small-scale industry (pp.6-7, 9-15, 20-21,
26-28, 44).
NSW households have a marked tendency towards meat in their diet, and are not
so inclined to eat fish despite its popularisation through fish and chips
(pp.11, 18-19, 48-49).
Overfishing and conservation have emerged as issues in the NSW fishing industry
not long after the industry began (pp.12-13, 16-17, 23, 33, 46-49).
Imports form a significant proportion of the fish eaten in Australia (pp.14,
19-20, 37-38, 48).
Research, conducted at both a federal and at a state level, has made a
significant contribution to commercial fishing in NSW (pp.17-18,34-36,
44-46).
Canning has been encouraged as a countermeasure to imports (pp.19-20, 38).
Inadequate returns have often been a feature of commercial fishing in New South
Wales (pp.15, 19, 43-44).
Trawling has helped to expand the fishing industry (pp.21-26, 32-33).
Tuna fishing has become an important sector of commercial fishing in the state
(pp.29-31).
Oyster production in NSW is significant because the state is the largest
producer of oysters in Australia (pp.13-14, 36, 47).
Technological innovations, such as echo sounders, and new developments in
machinery, have contributed to the industry (pp.28-29, 45-46).
Abalone fishing was developed in the 1960s and 1970s (pp.36-37).
NSW government has, in the past, intervened significantly in the industry,
either to inaugurate large-scale commercial fishing or to re-organise the
industry to increase the returns to boat owners (pp.21-23, 39-44, 51-54).
Federal government has also intervened in the industry, partly to conserve fish
stocks in Australian waters (pp.42-43, 49-53).
