Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Legislation Committee, , 2:15:08 to 2:18:48
Examination of the impact of local fishing closures on domestic seafood supply chains and the increasing reliance on imported products from New Zealand and elsewhere.
Topics: Fisheries, Food security, Biosecurity
Speakers: Speaker 4, Speaker 12, Speaker 23, Speaker 8, Speaker 17
after stock uh after errors in stock assessment were identified? Has DAP considered whether similar independent review is warranted in WA?
>> Uh those settings were changed by Queensland, but there was some work by the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation on that stock assessment. Uh so that would be a question for FRDC in similar situation like this.
>> Okay. >> So FRDC funded a project to do a review of the research of the stock assessment. Did
they? My understanding is they funded work to review the mackerel stock assessments or imports into that
in Queensland. Uh can I ask about the supply chain? I'm not sure if you've got involvement in this, but following the the WA closure, local suppliers uh has reportedly been replaced by interstate and overseas imports, including pig snap, have flown from New Zealand into Perth. Has DAFF assessed the impact of these reforms on domestic uh seafood supply chains?
>> No. Again, that would be a question for
WA government. >> Has the department considered the food security and carbon implications of replacing locally landed fish with products imported from over 5,000 km
away. >> Again, sorry, questions for WA government given that these decisions
are their decisions. What assessment has the department made of increased biocurity and traceability risks arising from a greater reliance on importing uh seafood?
>> That senator might be a better question for outcome.
>> Outcome two. >> Yeah. >> Does the department consider it appropriate that Australian fisheries policy outcomes are now increasingly dependent on uh on imported product?
Could you just ask that question again? Apologies, Senator.
>> Do you consider it appropriate that the Australian fisheries policy outcomes are now or have become increasingly dependent on uh imported product?
>> I'm not sure I'd characterize characterize it in that way. I think um obviously focused on ensuring that there is a strong domestic >> um commercial fishery in Australia. Um obviously we're responsible for Commonwealth waters and and our focus is ensuring that there's rigorous and proper I guess kind of regulation around that in according in alongside Athma.
>> But you do have responsibility for agricultural and seafood supply chains
though don't you? Um well I think those responsibilities are I guess kind of across a number of departments and obviously Bruce kind of acknowledge that Daiser has also a role in supply chains as well but we certainly have a strong interest and um the food security strategy work that we're doing will be looking at that as
well. Does the department have a view and if so what is it in relation to in a sense displacing or or offsetting the you there's a protection that's uh applied here in Western Australia uh but you know other countries other jurisdictions around the world will will maybe be overfished or there could be ramifications for those local areas. What do does the department have a view on on uh the impact of that?