The Commission convened for its 101st meeting in Adelaide on 10 and 11March 2026.
Stakeholder Engagement
The Commission considered written updates from the Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery Associations, the Northern Prawn Fishery Industry (NPFI) and the Australian Southern Bluefin Tuna Industry Association. The Commission also met with the Chair of Seafood Industry Australia (SIA) and the board of the Commonwealth Fisheries Association (CFA). Discussions with these partners focussed on strategic opportunities that are arising from initiatives such as the Futures of Seafood project, Country of Origin Labelling and the Government's focus on Productivity and Regulatory Reform, as well as significant challenges, including fuel availability and price, economic pressures threatening viability and areas of cooperation.
The Commission welcomed a discussion with the Executive Director of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Primary Industries and Regions, South Australia, focussing on shared challenges and areas for cooperation in fisheries regulation.
Total Allowable Catches (TACs) and associated measures
Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery (SESSF)
The Commission thanked AFMA Management, and the relevant Resource Assessment Groups (RAGs) and Management Advisory Committees (MACs) for the comprehensive species assessments and advice to support decision making. The Commission determined TACs and over/under catch provisions for all the key SESSF stocks as provided in Attachment 1.
SESSF Harvest Strategy
The Commission approved updates to the SESSF Harvest Strategy as recommended by the RAGs and MAC. The Commission was pleased to support the re-insertion of Tier 2 stock assessments to recognise cases where an assessment that might otherwise be a Tier 1 has characteristics that make it less certain. The Commission also welcomed the review and proposed increase of discount buffers for TACs set using assessments lower than Tier 1.
School Shark
The Commission conducted a significant review of advice from SharkRAG, SEMAC and AFMA Management on the status of school shark. Following consideration of all available information, the Commission determined a TAC of 446 tonnes for three years.
In making this determination, the Commission was mindful of the fact that school shark is listed as Conservation Dependent under the EPBC Act, the long period of time for which measures have been in place to rebuild this stock and the provisions of the School Shark Rebuilding Strategy (SSRS), the Commonwealth Fisheries Harvest Strategy Policy (CHSP) and AFMA's legislated objectives.
The Commission noted the following in support of its decision:
- While the full age-structured stock assessment for this stock is expected to be completed in 2026, the RAG and MAC accepted scientific advice from CSIRO concluding that the stock has been rebuilding at a rate of approximately 7.5% per year (with 90% confidence intervals of 2.7%-12.3%) since 2006. That conclusion is based on the same General Linear Model methodology that has been applied to this stock since the previous genetic assessment (2019). The method used to calculate the TAC is the same as used in recent years but applies the faster rebuilding rate than the 3% previously applied.
- The Commission noted advice that the 2025 analysis was far more powerful than the 2019 analysis due to a doubling in the number of genetic samples used and the sampling of many more cohorts.
- The Commission also noted that the TAC is based on an assumed rebuilding rate of 5%. The Commission accepted the RAG and MAC advice that this is a precautionary adjustment to the estimated 7.5% rebuilding rate, and that CSIRO found an 85% probability that the rate is greater than 5%.
- While not explicitly used in the calculation of the TAC, the Commission was encouraged to note that school shark CPUE in the trawl fishery has increased at a rate of approximately 8% per year since 2005. The Commission viewed this correlation as adding to the weight of evidence supporting strong rebuilding of school shark.
- The Commission noted that setting the TAC in this manner is consistent with AFMA's legislative objectives as well as the CHSP and the SSRS.
- The Commission considered the RAG and MAC recommendation in the context of several factors relevant to the rebuilding strategy and CHSP:
- The Commission agreed that the increased TAC would not impede continued rebuilding, especially given the precautionary use of a 5% rebuilding rate rather than the estimated 7.5%.
- The Commission agreed that, despite the very positive trend in stock growth, other protection measures, including large-scale spatial closures in known pupping grounds and key catch areas, gear restrictions, minimum size limit and live release requirements remain in place to prevent targeted fishing in accordance with the SSRS.
- On the specific matter of preventing targeting:
- The Commission noted that the increase in TAC would allow additional bycatch retention consistent with the increased abundance of school shark. The Commission noted that discards have reached historically high levels in the last two years and supported the rationale that a proportion of this increased catch will be matched by a decrease in discarded fish.
- The Commission also decided to retain the current rule that requires release of live school sharks both to contribute to continued stock rebuilding and to prevent targeting school sharks.
- The Commission reviewed economic information relating to school shark, and the significantly lower beach price of school shark compared to gummy shark, concluding there is little to no incentive for targeting school shark.
- The Commission also agreed to set the required ratio of gummy shark to school shark quota for fishing at 3:1 to prevent targeting.
- The Commission directed AFMA Management to undertake periodic targeting analyses to detect and respond to any evidence of targeting.
- The Commission considered and agreed to five "breakout rules" to accompany the increased TAC. The TAC will be reviewed and revised if new information such as the age-structured CKMR assessment, expected to be available in September 2026 reveals that any of these rules are triggered in the next three years.
- The Commission also considered the TAC, and associated measures described above, against AFMA's objectives. Matters of sustainability of school sharks are considered above, with the conclusion that the decisions are sufficiently precautionary to support continued rebuilding. The adaptive, evidence-based increase in TAC supports greater Net Economic Returns to the Australian community from the management of fisheries by reducing unnecessarily restrictive regulatory burden and allowing fishers to catch gummy shark in the most cost effective manner, while still ensuring the ongoing rebuild of school shark.
Orange Roughy Eastern Zone
The Commission considered an industry proposal to change the apportionment of the Eastern Orange Roughy TAC to the Pedra Branca area from 7% to 3.5%. The Commission was satisfied with the basis of the decision, and the scientific advice that the proposal would have no impact on sustainability of the stock. However, the Commission did not have sufficient information before it to fully consider whether the proposal would result in any disproportionate changes to quota holdings relevant to each area. The Commission therefore determined to keep the apportionment at 7% for the 2026-27 season and requested additional assessment by the MAC on the issue of potential quota reallocation.
Orange Roughy Western Zone
The Commission set a conservative TAC for Orange Roughy Western Zone for the purposes of ongoing data collection to support a stock assessment for this zone. The Commission noted that the TAC is commensurate to the research catch allowance previously granted for this stock, poses no increased risk to the stock and allows for improved administration processes that better align with AFMA's objectives.
Redfish
The Commission reviewed the status of redfish and measures in place to promote its recovery from historic overfishing. The Commission was pleased to note that catches of the species have declined by 68% since large scale closures were put in place in May 2023 to protect at-risk species. Nevertheless, the Commission noted advice from the RAG that mortality of redfish should be further reduced and the recommendation from the MAC that a reduced TAC combined with a 'move on' rule should be implemented.
The Commission agreed to reduce the TAC to 5 tonnes, reflecting the reduced catch achieved through the closures, and to implement a move-on rule if a vessel encounters more than 50kg in a shot. The Commission was confident that these measures will further reduce fishing mortality of redfish while enabling some data collection through the ability to retain small amounts of byproduct.
The Commission noted that the Threatened Species Scientific Committee was considering a proposal to list redfish as 'critically endangered' under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. The Commission recommends that redfish should be listed as 'Conservation Dependent'.
Small Pelagic Fishery (SPF)
The Commission determined TACs and under/overcatch provisions for each SPF stock, as provided in Attachment 2. The Commission was pleased to note the additional analysis conducted by SPFRAG and development of a more robust method to use the results of the Daily Egg Production surveys that are conducted each year.
Western Tuna and Billfish Fishery (WTBF)
The Commission determined the under/overcatch percentage at 10% and the determined amount at 2 tonnes for each quota species in the WTBF.
Economic Indicators
The Commission considered a suite of economic indicators recommended by the Economic Working Group using quota trading data collected by AFMA. The Commission approved several economic indicators for use by RAGs and MACs in forming management advice, and by the Commission in decision making. The Commission reiterated issues raised in its 100th meeting that care would be required to ensure that the data is used only for its intended purpose and is treated with the correct sensitivity.
Ecological Risk Management Working Group (ERMWG)
The Commission noted the outcomes of the recent ERMWG and actions arising, including proposed updates to Fisheries Management Paper 14 and the Residual Risk Guidelines. Commissioners welcomed this progress and approved minor amendments to the Terms of Reference for the ERMWG.
AFMA Research Committee (ARC)
The Commission appointed Commissioner Dutton as Chair of the ARC and thanked Commissioner McCallum for his service in the role over the past seven years.
Next meeting
The Commission agreed that its next meeting would be held on 12 and 13 May 2026. The meeting is scheduled to be held in Canberra, but the Commission will consider whether it should be held virtually depending on the substance of the agenda.
The Commission warmly thanked Ms Jen Power-Geary who had completed her one-year appointment as the Executive Officer to the Commission.
Helen Kroger
Chair
