Some ‘fast facts’ about the South Australian Southern Rock Lobster Fishery:

• Species scientific name: Jasus edwardsii
• The Southern Rock Lobster Fishery (Southern & Northern Zones) is the State’s most valuable fishery - in 2010/11 1,557 tonnes of southern rock lobster was landed, valued in excess of $82 million (GVP).
• Combined direct and flow-on effects / output in 2009/10 from the fishery were in excess of $240 million worth of economic activity to the State.
• The fishery generated in excess of 1,300 FTE employment positions in South Australia in 2009/10 (largely in regional / coastal areas).
• The fishery is a key export industry for South Australia with in excess of 90% of the catch being exported, live, to China.
• The fishery has been under varying levels of formal management since 1917.
• The fishery is a quota managed (output control) fishery with different levels of Total Allowable Commercial Catch (TACC) in each Zone, Southern and Northern.
• 2012/13 Southern Zone TACC: 1,250 tonnes (Quota introduced in 1992)
• 2012/13 Northern Zone TACC: 345 tonnes (Quota introduced in 2003)
• The Southern Zone Season runs from 1 October to 31 May each year.
• The Northern Zone Season runs from 1 November to 31 May each year.
• There are 181 licences with approximately 165 active vessels in the Southern Zone (Murray Mouth to Victorian Border).
• There are 68 licences with approximately 38 active vessels in the Northern Zone (Murray Mouth to the Western Australian Border).
• Commercial fishers fish with a ‘pot’ gear type demonstrated as having negligible levels of environmental impact.

• The Southern Zone has 7 landing points / ports - Kingston / Cape Jaffa, Robe, Beachport, Southend, Carpenter Rocks, Black Fellows Caves & Port MacDonnell.
• The Northern Zone has multiple points of landing, however vessels are primarily based out 3 regional centres - Port Lincoln, Kangaroo Island & Yorke Peninsula.
• Commercial fishers adhere to minimum size limits, limited season length, maximum pot numbers / quota unit holdings & a total prohibition on the retention of spawning female lobsters (input controls).
• Licence holders participate in a voluntary catch sampling program throughout the season. This involves the use of 3 research pots in conjunction with their commercial fishing gear to generate actual information to inform the fishery management process.
• The fishery developed and adopted its own standard of industry best practice for rock lobster fishing - the ‘Clean Green Program’. This standard covers environmental, OH&S, product quality, food safety & animal welfare aspects & is independently third party accredited and audited each year. It has now been adopted in the Tasmanian & Victorian southern rock lobster fisheries.
• The fishery has recently developed new 5-year Harvest Strategy for each Zone to inform future TACC setting.
• The fishery is in the process of completing new a Management Plan for each Zone.
• The Rock Lobster Fishery Management Advisory Committee (RLFMAC) has recently been established across both Zones, to facilitate independent, objective & expertise based fishery management decision making, guided largely by the new Harvest Strategies. The RLFMAC is responsible for developing and providing recommendations regarding management of the fishery to the Minister for Agriculture, Food & Fisheries.
• The development of the South Australian Marine Parks Network & relevant marine parks in Commonwealth waters (South East & South West Marine Regions) is the single biggest issue the industry will face. The South Australian Southern Rock Lobster Industry is heavily involved in the roll-out of the State & Commonwealth Governments’ marine parks processes.