Well, after more than 14 months of involvement with the NERA CSEP project we are pleased to update you on progress to date. Under direction from NERA and in association with the CSEP Project Team, Millodon Consulting has been driving the development and consulting with the Australian commercial fishing sector on two protocol documents; namely the Adjustment Protocol and the Operational Protocol.

The Adjustment Protocol is currently in it’s second round of consultation with commercial fishers. This protocol outlines a mechanism for financial adjustment for commercial fishers that can demonstrate a drop in Catch Per Unit of Effort (CPUE), based on historical catch data, that coincides with seismic survey activities within the same fished area, both during and for a period following the seismic survey. There are also mechanisms for compensation for a fishing vessel’s displacement from a regularly fished fishing ground and for any fishing gear loss or damage that results from a seismic survey activity.

The Operational Protocol outlines commitments from the CSEP consortium members relating to levels of communications with commercial fishers for any planned seismic survey activity, including timing and content for pre-survey notifications, as well as on-water communications during a survey. In addition, the consortium has drafted commitments relating to the size, location and timing of surveys that will be planned and executed under an accepted CSEP. This protocol is currently in its first round of consultation with commercial fishers.

Whilst neither protocol has yet been endorsed by the commercial fishing industry as a whole, the Adjustment Protocol, in particular, has been broadly acknowledged by both WA State and Northern Territory commercial fishers and their peak industry representative organisations, as being a step in the right direction toward the improvement in the working relationship between the two industry sectors. The Adjustment Protocol has also been reviewed and received input from national peak industry bodies for both sectors and is gaining recognition from Commonwealth Government departments as a potential foundation for broader implementation beyond the CSEP project.

There is still a ways to go before either protocol is fully endorsed or ratified by all stakeholders, but we believe we are far closer to an acceptable agreement than has previously been achieved, thanks to the invaluable input from all parties involved. We’ll keep you posted on further progress as project milestones are reached.