The controversial Dutch-owned factory freezer trawler Geelong Star has arrived in Australia and been given initial Federal Government approval to fish, despite concerted opposition.
Geelong Star would be the largest trawler to fish in Australian waters, after a bigger sister ship, the Margiris, was banned in the 2012 supertrawler controversy.
The 95 metre vessel arrived without notice on Wednesday in Albany, Western Australia, was inspected by the Australian Fisheries Management Authority, and is expected to begin fishing within days.
It will pursue the same jack mackerel and redbait that would have been targeted by the Margiris, but take a slightly lower 16,500 tonne quota in a fishery reaching around south-eastern Australia from Queensland to WA.
The Australian Fisheries Management Authority announced Geelong Star's arrival in a statement.
It said AFMA's inspection confirmed compliance with requirements for GPS tracking, and for nets that included devices to minimise seabird, seal and dolphin deaths.
A plan to manage the fishing must next be finalised to minimise its impacts on other commercial and recreational fisheries, according to AFMA's general manager of Fisheries Operations, Peter Venslovas..
"Today's inspection of the Geelong Star is just the first in what will become a regular event for this vessel when operating in the Small Pelagic Fishery" Mr Venslovas said.
The Stop The Trawler Alliance said it understood the Geelong Star was refuelling and may start fishing as soon as the Easter weekend.
"The vessel has arrived in Australia without notice, with its vessel monitoring transponder turned off, and will start fishing in secrecy", said alliance spokeswoman Rebecca Hubbard.
The billion dollar recreational fishing industry is engaging with AFMA over the Geelong Star, but other recreational fishers said that the authority was not listening to them.
"Nothing has significantly changed since they tried to bring in the last super trawler," said John Edwards of the Tuna Club of Tasmania.
"There are no proven strategies to stop localised depletion destroying important recreational fisheries."
