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Quantifying fishing activity targeting subsea pipelines by commercial trap fishers

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Abstract

Over 1400 km of oil and gas pipeline infrastructure exists within the boundaries of the Pilbara Trap Managed Fishery (PTMF) operating on the North West Shelf of Australia. Some of this infrastructure has reached the end of its operational life and requires decommissioning. Location and speed data collected from 2008 to 2018 using vessel monitoring systems onboard all trap fishing vessels (n = 3) operating in the PTMF were used to understand how fishing activity near pipelines has changed through time, and to identify the best predictive variables to explain hours spent fishing km−2 week−1. The proportion of fishing activity within 200 m of a pipeline increased over the survey decade and averaged 4.2% across all years. Hours spent fishing km−2 within 200 m of any pipeline was found to be 8.0 h km−2, ~ 11.4 times more than that recorded, on average, for the remaining area of the PTMF (0.7 h km−2), and ~ 4.6 times more than the western portion of the PTMP (1.7 h km−2) where all pipeline infrastructure exists. Fishing activity within 1 km of pipelines increased after their installation, and hence time since installation was the best predictor of fishing. This study demonstrated that trap fishers in the PTMF allocate a small proportion of their time targeting pipeline infrastructure, with the area close to a pipeline experiencing a relatively greater magnitude of fishing than that elsewhere in the PTMF. As such, the results of this study provide decision makers with an understanding of the intrinsic value of this infrastructure to trap fishers.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development for providing access to VMS data for the purpose of this project. Thank you to fishers of the PTMF for support and comment on this manuscript. This study was supported by the Australian Government, Woodside Energy Ltd, and The University of Western Australia, through Research Training Program (RTP) Scholarship, Woodside Top-Top and UWA Safety-Net Top-Up Scholarships.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The UWA Oceans Institute, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Hwy, Perth, WA, 6009, Australia

    Todd Bond, Dianne L. McLean, Julian C. Partridge & Jane Prince

  2. School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Hwy, Perth, WA, 6009, Australia

    Todd Bond & Jane Prince

  3. Australian Institute of Marine Science, Indian Ocean Marine Research Centre, Cnr. of Fairway and Service Road 4, Perth, WA, 6009, Australia

    Dianne L. McLean

  4. Western Australian Fisheries and Marine Research Laboratories, Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Government of Western Australia, North Beach, WA, 6020, Australia

    Corey B. Wakefield, Dion K. Boddington & Stephen J. Newman

  5. School of Engineering, University of Southampton, Southampton Boldrewood Innovation Campus, Burgess Road, Southampton, SO16 7QF, UK

    David White

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Correspondence to Todd Bond.

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Bond, T., McLean, D.L., Wakefield, C.B. et al. Quantifying fishing activity targeting subsea pipelines by commercial trap fishers. Rev Fish Biol Fisheries 31, 1009–1023 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11160-021-09686-4

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