Australian fisheries economic indicators report 2017: Financial and economic performance of the Eastern Tuna and Billfish Fishery

The Australian fisheries economic indicators report expands on and takes the place of the long running ABARES Australian fisheries surveys report. The report presents results from ABARES' fishery surveys on financial returns to fishers and net economic returns from fisheries to the Australian community. The report includes a range of other economic indicators, including productivity analysis.

This report covers the Eastern Tuna and Billfish Fishery (ETBF), with new survey results for the 2013-14 and 2014-15 financial years and non-survey based estimates of net economic return for the 2015-16 and 2016-17 financial years.

Key issues
• Financial performance of the average vessel ETBF operator improved between 2013-14 and 2014-15. Profit at full equity increased significantly in 2014-15 which was the result of total cash receipts increasing proportionately higher than total cash costs. • Economic performance of the ETBF improved in 2014-15. Net economic return (NER) was negative in the ETBF in 2013-14, but increased significantly in 2014-15. This was driven by fishing income increasing at a greater rate than fishing costs and was supported by an improvement in the fisher's terms of trade and an increase in total factor productivity in that year. • Preliminary non-survey based estimates indicate that NER remained positive for the ETBF for the 2015-16 and 2016-17 financial years.