Senator O’BRIEN—There is a question that I want to ask but I will wait until the minister gets here, if the chair does not get too concerned. I want to ask about the Bureau of Rural Sciences Fishery status reports2005, which was released a couple of weeks ago. I am asking these questions of AFMA. Does AFMA accept the findings of the BRS report?

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Mr McLoughlin—BRS is appointed to undertake an independent review of the status of Australian fisheries. We do accept their findings and we act on those as appropriate.

Senator JOYCE—How do you monitor the Antarctic fisheries—our fisheries off the Australian Antarctic Territory?

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Mr McLoughlin—We have two AFMA observers on every trip by an Australian boat into Antarctic waters. They work 24/7 monitoring the catches.

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Senator JOYCE—That must be pretty hard.

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Mr McLoughlin—Yes. The observers who do the Antarctic trips are very skilled, hardworking people.

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Senator Abetz—They must be committed to go down there, that is all I can say. You have been down there, haven’t you, Senator Joyce, so you know what the waters are like.

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Senator JOYCE—Yes, rather them than me.