Improving stakeholder engagement

Improving engagement with our stakeholders is a key reform area of the Queensland Sustainable Fisheries Strategy: 2017–2027 – it’s fundamental to successfully implementing the strategy and ensuring we have fish for the future.

Our aim is to build effective and productive relationships across all sectors and the broader community. To improve engagement with our stakeholders, we:

  • consult with the sustainable fisheries expert panel and fishery working groups on a regular basis, and publish the meeting communiques on our website so the discussions are available for all stakeholders
  • maintain a reviews, surveys and consultations web page so all stakeholders can access opportunities to have their say
  • redesigned the Catch news e-newsletter to incorporate fisheries information of most interest and importance to key stakeholders and the broader community
  • introduced a Commercial fishing update e-newsletter to keep commercial fishers up to date with the latest fisheries management information
  • introduced an Aquaculture update e-newsletter to keep aquaculture operators up to date with the latest management and planning information.

We will continue working to find practical and effective ways to engage with our stakeholders about how our fisheries are managed.

Engagement satisfaction survey

At the end of 2019, we surveyed a range of stakeholder groups about their satisfaction with our engagement. The results of the 2019 survey have been compared with those from the initial 2017 survey.

Overall, the 2019 survey results indicated that:

  • charter operators and commercial fishers are very interested in fisheries management
  • confidence that opinions are properly considered by Fisheries Queensland varies by sector
  • commercial fishers and charter operators think Fisheries Queensland is not genuine about engaging, while recreational fishers are more positive
  • satisfaction with engagement varies by sector.

Engagement improvement project

Experts from the Institute for Sustainable Futures (University of Technology Sydney) reviewed how we engage with Queensland’s professional fishing industry, having previously worked with commercial fishers in other states, particularly New South Wales.

The team explored motivations, barriers, drivers and past engagement experiences, and have made independent recommendations for improved stakeholder engagement:

More information