TORRES STRAIT AND WESTERN PROVINCE TROPICAL ROCK LOBSTER FISHERY MANAGEMENT PLAN

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TORRES STRAIT AND WESTERN PROVINCE TROPICAL ROCK LOBSTER FISHERY MANAGEMENT PLAN

The lobster fishery in the Torres Strait is one of the six fisheries managed under
Article 22 of the Torres Strait Treaty, which was ratified between Papua New Guinea
(PNG) and Australia in 1985. The Treaty’s main objective is to preserve the fishery
for traditional inhabitants of Torres Strait. There is limited entry for non-traditional
inhabitants and expansion is strictly reserved for traditional inhabitants. A limit of 7
licensed freezer vessels are allowed to operate in the fishery at any one time. A catch
sharing agreement with Australia allows PNG divers to catch 25 % share from
Australian side of the Torres Strait Protected Zone. To conserve the breeding
populations, a ban on trawling for lobsters in both Australia and PNG waters was
imposed in 1984.
There are four (4) main