Fishery Management
The Undaria fishery in Tasmania is managed by the state government under the Marine Plant Fishery. Harvest comes from the east coast and different licence conditions allow access to the two fishing zones. Undaria is a ‘declared plant pest/weed’ under the Biosecurity Act 2019. The primary management concern for the Undaria fishery is maintaining biosecurity and relevant licence conditions apply.
| Management System | Description |
|---|---|
| Fishing Method | Dive fishery with Undaria harvested by hand collection. |
| Fishing licences | Access provided to holders of fishing licence (Undaria) or fishing licence (introduced marine plant). Both licence types restrict fishers to harvesting Undaria only. Holders of fishing licence (Undaria) can operate in the entirety of the Undaria Zone, included the Restricted Undaria Zone. Holders of fishing licence (introduced marine plant) can operate only in the Undaria Zone. |
| Biosecurity management | Both licence types state that Undaria must only be unloaded to a ‘licenced processor endorsed for Undaria‘ or at the place from which it will be directly exported or used. Biosecurity Tasmania issued a five-year group permit in July 2023 to all holders of valid Undaria fishing licences or permits, making Undaria fishing practices lawful. The group permit is publicly available here. |
| Management Method | Fishing licence (Undaria) is limited to one transferable licence, allows unlimited supervisors (divers), and is restricted to specific areas and unloading requirements. Fishing licence (introduced marine plant) is unlimited in number, non-transferable, allows one supervisor (diver) per licence, and is restricted to specific areas and unloading requirements. |
| Main Market | Most is used in the fucoidan extraction industry by a Tasmanian-based company (Marinova Pty Ltd). |
