Abstract
Queensland's fishing industry encompasses a broad variety of commercially important species and fishing techniques, of which otter trawling is by far the most important. Prawns constitute the bulk of the trawl catch, and were worth approximately 100 million dollars in 1985. The industry comprises over 1200 licensed trawl fishermen representing a total fleet in the order of 1000 trawlers. With an average crew of between two and three people per vessel, it is estimated that over 2500 people are employed at sea aboard commercial trawlers. Aside from the vagaries of weather, the often cramped living conditions and the personality clashes experienced whilst working at sea, these people also face the hazards of handling a wide variety of poisonous and venomous animals during their nightly work. Despite the value of prawns and a small selection of incidental catch components including scallops, bay lobsters (bugs), rock lobsters and squid, the relative abundance of the commercially important species amongst the bycatch is often minimal. Although the commercial portion of the total catch may vary from virtually nil on particularly poor nights, to almost 100 percent at the height of the banana prawn season, the majority of trawls throughout the state will produce a wide mixture of animals, of which over 70 percent is usually considered trash or bycatch. This bycatch component of the catch can be enormously diverse, and will inevitably include some poisonous and/ or venomous species.
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Publication Name
Toxic Plants and Animals: a guide for Australia
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ISBN/ISSN
978-0-7242-2381-7
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Pages Count
10
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Publisher
Queensland Museum
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Publisher Location
Brisbane, QLD, Australia
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