Community engagement through better fishing

By John Diplock*

Offsets for Impacts
Resource developments and rapid population growth bring special problems to remote areas. Ports and loading facilities can directly impact fishing grounds, while exclusion zones and security areas can restrict access for fishers. The arrival of new keen recreational fishers to a town increases the local fishing pressure in accessible areas and can lead to resentment and even conflict. Recognising community concerns and mitigating adverse development impacts is essential in building successful community engagement.
One solution is to recognise the impacts and set about directly improving the fishing. Certainly, fish can be bred artificially and stocked into ocean waters, but this is a short-term measure best applied to fix a specific recruitment problem. What's needed is a cost-effective and enduring solution where just about everyone in the community benefits. This is where artificial reefs come in.

No more junk
There has been a long-standing interest in artificial reefs in Australia, but in the last five years things have really taken off. Following successful overseas developments, the eastern mainland states all now have artificial reef programs in train. Fishermen have always known that structures under the water attract and hold fish, and natural reefs are regular fishing targets.  Naturally they have sought to build new fishing grounds or improve existing ones using whatever was at hand.
So, historically, artificial reefs were built from junk, euphemistically called “materials of opportunity”, including car tyres, car bodies, shopping trolleys and building waste. However stringent state and national environment protection laws, and new research results have put an end to that. It's clear that well-designed, purpose-built artificial reefs deliver the best results. Until the end of 2009 the requisite design and manufacturing expertise did not exist in Australia.

Get the design right
Making an effective artificial reef requires sound planning. Site location is critical to maximise the effect while ensuring the location is accessible and safely fishable in the prevailing conditions. Reef modules must be designed for the target fish species, each having their suite of preferred shapes, voids, surfaces and profiles. Modules must also be designed for the wave, current and sediment conditions including cyclonic events. Modern modules are made of steel or reinforced concrete and are designed to last for at least 40 years. Getting all this right takes experience.

The time is right
As with any substantial structures placed into the water, the environmental impact should be questioned. After all, that is why it is being done. The NSW Government is in the process of completing a full Environmental Impact Assessment on artificial reefs in ocean waters, which has to date found no unmanageable impacts and is like to receive formal approval soon.
This comprehensive study has, for the first time in Australia, identified and addressed all the relevant environmental issues associated with artificial reefs and paves the way for future developments.
For the first time governments are supportive of artificial reef programs. The NSW, Queensland and Victorian programs are being conducted by government, with the other states and territories showing great interest. In Queensland three artificial reefs will be sited within the boundaries of the Moreton Bay Marine Park. This reflects confidence in the capacity for artificial reefs to provide genuine offsets for top fishing spots lost to no-fishing sanctuary zones.
Recreational fishers are also pushing hard for artificial reefs in their local areas. They have seen the benefits from the pilot programs in Victoria and NSW and have committed large amounts of their fishing licence funds for this purpose. The pressure will only increase over time.
And for the first time the capacity to deliver what’s needed is here. The expertise underpinning the successful Korean program is now available.
If community engagement is important to you, then artificial reefs could make a significant contribution, particularly in remote and regional areas.

* John Diplock is from Hamata Pty Ltd, a fisheries consultancy based in Sydney. John was manager of the NSW DPI artificial reefs program from its inception in 2005 until August 2008.