Delivering on the election commitment to phase out gillnets from the Northern Territory's commercial Barramundi Fishery.
Strengthening electronic monitoring to ensure decisions are backed by robust, transparent and reliable data.
Driving balanced fisheries reform that supports sustainability, economic opportunity and long-term community benefit.
The Finocchiaro CLP Government is delivering on its election commitment to phase out gillnets from the Northern Territory's commercial Barramundi Fishery.
Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries Gerard Maley said reform of the Barramundi Fishery is being delivered through two parallel processes.
"One process will focus on the structural adjustment of the industry and the phase out of gills nets while a second will be focused on the development of a new management framework to identify long-term community benefit and optimal use of the resource.
"As part of our commitment to remove gillnets, we are making sure the science and data underpinning future management is robust, transparent and reliable," Mr Maley said.
Changes are also being made to the electronic monitoring arrangements in the Barramundi Fishery which aim to deliver more reliable data to inform long-term management of the resource.
Electronic monitoring uses vessel-mounted cameras to record fishing activities, enabling the validation of logbook data and improving confidence in reporting.
Electronic monitoring will target 20 per cent of the commercial Barramundi annual fishing effort, with each active vessel monitored at least once. NT Fisheries will review 100 per cent of all footage captured.
This replaces a previous policy which required all vessels to carry cameras, with a commitment by NT Fisheries to review 10-20 per cent of the footage.
Importantly, the percentage of data reviewed by NT Fisheries remains the same as the initial commitment.
Mr Maley said the updated approach increases data reliability and strengthens the Department's capacity to detect infrequent or low-probability interactions with threatened, endangered and protected species.
"This change delivers on the Barramundi Fishery Threatened, Endangered and Protected Species Strategy data validation requirements and ensures our monitoring settings are calibrated to risk and evidence," he said.
Data collected through electronic monitoring will provide a validated baseline for comparison with new gear types as Government works to phase out gillnets from the fishery.
A Fishery Adjustment Committee has been established to oversee the structural adjustment process, and a Barramundi Fishery Advisory Group - with membership from all fishing sectors - has been formed to provide expert advice on new management arrangements.
Mr Maley said the reform applies across Northern Territory coastal waters where the commercial Barramundi Fishery operates, with structured governance arrangements guiding the process.
"In our year of growth, certainty and security, we are delivering fisheries reform that balances environmental sustainability with economic opportunity and long-term community benefit," he said.
"Stakeholder engagement is ongoing with commercial, recreational and Aboriginal sectors, and the community will have formal opportunities to provide feedback on proposed future management settings."
Future draft management arrangements will be released for public consultation online, with final regulatory amendments progressed through standard legislative processes before implementation.
Public information and updates on the Barramundi Fishery reform are available at here.
