By JOHN VAN KLAVEREN
CONTROVERSIAL factory freezer trawler Geelong Star is fishing its way to Corio Bay after arriving in Western Australia from Europe.
The 95-metre fishing trawler, which will be based in Geelong, has an approved fishing management plan to chase a 16,500-tonne quota.
Seafish Tasmania hired the trawler after larger “super-trawler” FV Margiris was banned in 2012.
Geelong Star will fish for jack mackerel and redbait in the small pelagic fishery stretching from Queensland to WA.
Australian Fisheries Management Authority announced it had inspected the Geelong Star upon its arrival last week.
The authority said the inspection confirmed the ship complied with requirements for GPS tracking, nets to minimise seabird, seal and dolphin deaths and requirements to monitor and minimise impacts on non-target species.
Ship tracking website marinetraffic.com showed Geelong Star’s last position off Albany, heading into the Great Australian Bight.
The vessel’s management plan aims to minimise its impact on other commercial and recreational fisheries.
The vessel master must stop hauling immediately if a marine mammal was “observed coming aboard trapped in folds of netting”, the plan said.
The mammal should also be released as quickly as possible.
“If fishing operations conducted result in the death of one or more dolphins, one or more Australian sea lions or three or more seals in any shot, the vessel must suspend fishing immediately,” the plan said.
