State, Market and Community: Managing Australian Fisheries

Australia has a significant maritime domain, the fourth largest maritime jurisdiction in the world, with an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and Extended Continental Shelf (ECS) of 13.6 million square kilometres (nearly twice the area of the continental land mass)1 from tropical to Antarctic waters. Australian fisheries are traditionally small-scale operations, and Australian fisheries are small relative to major fishing powers, yet they remain important to the Australian economy. The Australian industry is diverse, encompassing small owner-operator ‘bay and inlet’ fisheries through to offshore and ‘distant water’ operations, the latter operating in the Southern, Pacific and Indian Oceans. The diversity of operations, and the often widely differing interests that develop as a result, are important factors in shaping policy.