The Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) Commission has agreed to set Australia’s national catch allocation for southern bluefin tuna (SBT – Thunnus maccoyii) at 6,165 metric tons (MT) for the 2018 season.
As part of the decision, the commission recognized that the Australian Southern Bluefin Tuna Industry Association has voluntarily agreed to set aside 250 MT of the 500 MT increase on Australia’s 2017 national catch allocation for SBT.
The SBT fishery covers the entire sea area around Australia, out to 200 nautical miles from the coast.
In Australia, commercial fishers mainly use purse-seines to catch the tuna. After being caught, the fish are towed closer inshore and transferred to permanent floating farms or pontoons. They stay in these pontoons for several months, where they grow bigger before being harvested and sold frozen, mainly to Japanese markets.
SBT are also commonly caught off the New South Wales coastline, where fishers tend to use longlines.
In 2014-15, the fishery had a total estimated value of AUD 36.8 million (USD 28 million, EUR 23.6 million).
