So how does your state stack up?
Commonwealth
Commonwealth tuna fisheries and the Gillnet, Hook and Trap sector of the Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery have had cameras on boats since 2015, scoring well across all criteria. Mid-water trawl vessels currently have cameras, however purse seine vessels do not in the Small Pelagic Fishery.
Trials of cameras on boats have been completed or are underway in some fish and prawn trawl fisheries, however it is unclear if Commonwealth trade conditions will be met. There is no detailed policy or implementation plan for some high risk fisheries where cameras are required (e.g Torres Strait Prawn Fishery).
Threatened species interactions are made publicly available on a quarterly basis, however there are different levels of confidence in the data based on whether cameras are in place and levels of observer coverage.
Northern Territory
Cameras on boats are in place in some high-risk fisheries including longline and snapper trawl fisheries, with a trial underway in the barramundi gillnet fishery. However, there are no cameras on boats in the gillnet component of the Offshore Net and Line Fishery.
Rollout in some fisheries has occurred on schedule, while others are behind schedule, including the barramundi gillnet fishery.
Policies generally lack detail and are insufficient in regards to vessel requirements and enforcement. No summary data from cameras is publicly available.
South Australia
Where cameras are being trialled, policies are robust and independent data is being collected via cameras and observers in an effort to meet federal environmental conditions.
Cameras on boats are currently being trialled in the sardine purse seine fishery, however there are no current plans to implement cameras on boats in the State’s Gulf of St Vincent prawn trawl fishery impacting their overall scores across all criteria.
Independent threatened species interactions interactions are reported, but fisher reports are not considered an accurate representation of threatened species interactions.
Queensland
While Queensland has made some progress in select fisheries, there remains a lot of work to do to improve their ranking.
All gillnet vessels operating within the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area have had cameras on boats since early 2024. Though a trial is currently underway in the trawl fishery, it currently has low fisher participation.
Despite overarching policy commitments in the Sustainable Fisheries Strategy, implementation is running years behind schedule and detailed policy commitments for other high-risk fisheries don’t exist.
At present summary data from electronic monitoring is not made publicly available, and there is little public confidence in reported interactions in other fisheries due to the absence of electronic monitoring or independent observers.
Western Australia
Despite being an early adopter, full implementation in high risk fisheries is either non-existent or running behind schedule, with a lack of detailed policy commitments.
Pilbara fish trawl vessels saw the introduction of cameras in 2012, however the cameras are not currently in use.
A trial is currently underway in the temperate shark gillnet fishery, but is running years behind schedule. Other fisheries including some prawn trawl fisheries and the Pilbara trap fishery do not have cameras on boats.
Some data from camera trials has been publicly released from the temperate shark fishery. However, threatened species interaction data from all fisheries is not considered reliable given the lack of cameras and independent monitoring.
New South Wales
Cameras on boats are not in place in any of the State’s high-risk fisheries, and there are no public policy positions regarding future implementation.
For a deep dive on why Australian fisheries need cameras on boats, check out our blog.
