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Welcome to The Victorian Scallop Fishermen’s Association Inc.

We are a collective of the Scallop Fishing Families and associated support work force based in Lakes Entrance, Victoria.

Commercial fishing for scallops has been part of the Victorian fishing industry since the early 1970’s. In 1986, management of the Bass Strait Scallop Fishery was split between the Commonwealth, Tasmania and Victoria under an Offshore Constitutional Settlement (OCS). Through the OCS, three zones were formed: the Commonwealth central zone, a Victorian zone and a Tasmanian zone.

The waters of the Victorian Scallop fishing zone extend out 20 nautical miles, offshore from the high tide water mark, excluding the bays and inlets along the coast line where commercial fishing for scallops is prohibited.

The Victorian Scallop fishery has been characterised by highly variable catches due to severe fluctuations in the scallop resource.

These fluctuations are from the findings of annual abundance surveys. In some years, these government managed surveys find there are so few scallops that fishing cannot take place, on the basis it would put undue pressure on stocks and threaten the long-term survival of the stock and fishery.

The Victorian Scallop Fishermen’s Association Inc represents the interests of scallop fishermen operating within Australia’s south east waters. Our members hold entitlement to operate within the Bass Strait Central Zone Scallop Fishery, the Victorian Scallop Fishery and the Tasmanian Scallop Fishery.

Our members operators hold statutory fishing rights that allow them to catch Commercial scallop species that are under a quota. The Commonwealth Bass Strait Central Zone Scallop Fishery operates in the Bass Strait above Tasmania and extends from the Victoria/New South Wales border, around southern Australia to the Victoria/South Australia border. The fishery is between the Victorian and Tasmanian scallop fisheries that lie within 20 nautical miles of their respective coasts.

We welcome comment from consumers of scallops and those interested in the continuation of a sustainable, well managed Scallop Fishery in Victoria.

 

 

History

The purpose of this website is to keep our members, the public and consumers of scallops informed on current Scallop fishing quotas and the state of the Victorian Scallop Fishing Industry industry, as governed by both the State and Federal Governments.

The  Victorian Fisheries Authority, manage the affairs of our industry, within the Small Pelagic, Squid and Scallop Fisheries.

The Australian Fisheries Management Authority  control and manage the Commonwealth Scallop Fishery.

Over the last 15 years our member families have endured a serious reduction in the available Scallop fishing quotas.

Time marches on, with ever changing governments and staff and infrastructure change, it is easy and sometimes convenient for history to be forgotten. This website will be used to re enforce and re state history to ensure the way head does not forget past promises to our Association, and thus our member families.

We have maintained a skilled and committed work force, with fishermen, scallop splitters and associated skill sets.

We ask that the Government instrumentalities provide us with flexible options, not restrictions to allow us to operate.

Our Association has vertically integrated and are educating our members and industry from “catch to point of purchase”.

We understand the rapidly changing world we now live in.

Our concentrated endeavours and mission statement is to have less focus on pure catch results.

We are now focussed on all contributing factors that will allow us to ensure “our best practices” to value add from the Fishery planning process, to the fishing experience on the boat right through to the delivery of prime sustainable scallops for the table of our national and international consumers.

About

Our aim is to promote the maintenance and operation of an active, sustainable Victorian Scallop Fishery in our coastal waters.

The Scallop Fishermen’s Association Inc, are the representative body of Victorian Scallop Fisherman. Most of our members are based in Lakes Entrance, in East Gippsland, Victoria.

Our members have a deep and enduring relationship with our marine environment, that originated with the discovery of the Victorian Scallop Fishery in Bass Strait by our member Fishermen in 1970.

Prior to 1970, many of our fishing families were pioneers of the traditional Port Phillip Bay Scallop Fishery. Others relocated to Lakes Entrance with the closure of Port Phillip Bay Scallop Fishing in the mid 1980’s.

We understand our relationship to the marine environment we work in.

Our Fishery has been decimated in recent decades, along the East Gippsland Coast by Seismic activity that includes systematic blasting of our traditional scallop beds.

As a consequence our ability to bring high quality, sustainably harvested seafood to the tables of Victorian, Australian and overseas consumers has been hampered by quota restrictions imposed by the State and Federal Government instrumentalities who now govern and regulate our industry.

Blog

The Scallop Wars

O+W Art Exhibition Lakes Entrance. “The Scallop Wars” were they real or just a storm in a scallop shell. Circa 1972 and the Melbourne papers were full of the racial unrest between Australian and the newly arrived Greek Scallop Fishermen… was it a turf war, about illegal catches, quota cheating, pub violence, criminal undertones…the stuff …

Scallop Wharf Art Show and O+W Exhibition Lakes Entrance.

A short but pertinent message of encouragement from our website author for upcoming entries for the FLOAT O+W Art Exhibition. The exhibition is to be held on Saturday, June 20, 2020 at 6 PM – 10:30 PM Slipway Lakes Entrance 480 Esplanade, Lakes Entrance, Victoria 3909 My hand cut graphic, connecting the dots… between the …

Victorian Scallop Fishery Total Allowable Commercial Catch 2018/19

The Victorian Scallop Fishermen’s Association Inc, President Steve Melissakis, Commented on the the release of the Total Allowable Commercial Catch  (TACC) for the Victorian Ocean Scallop Fishery. Our historical consultation and outspoken efforts to make a visible and clear link between Seismic activity and the depletion and damage to our traditional Scallop grounds has only ever gained …

Contact

Contact Us
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The Victorian Scallop Fishermens Association Inc.

Mail: P.O. Box 690 Lakes Entrance 3909 Victoria Australia.

email: info@scallopvic.com.au

Phone: President, Steve Melissakis 0418 144 173