A Study Of Fishery-induced Mortality Of Under-sized Rock Lobsters
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Summary
Objectives: 1. Collect & analyse data on fishing practice in handling under-sized western rock lobsters; , & 2. study behaviour, survival rate & subsequent growth rates after return to sea 3. effect of fishing practice on survey & subsequent growth of eff-bearing ("berried") rock lobsters
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE120100019
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
Miniaturisation: sensory limitations and navigational competence. Body size in most animals correlates with behavioural competence, brain capacity and sensory receptors. But since the navigational challenges faced by animals both big and small are similar, this project aims to identify the sensory and behavioural costs of miniaturisation and the strategies animals have evolved to cope with it.
Information processing at its limits: from the dimmest habitats to the smallest sizes. Ensuring optimal information processing at the limits of size and ambient light is a challenge for technical systems, but has been elegantly solved by animals. The challenge of navigation is similar for animals of all sizes and in both day and night. This project aims to conduct a comparative analysis to identify the consequence of size and light on the information processing capacities for visual navigation. ....Information processing at its limits: from the dimmest habitats to the smallest sizes. Ensuring optimal information processing at the limits of size and ambient light is a challenge for technical systems, but has been elegantly solved by animals. The challenge of navigation is similar for animals of all sizes and in both day and night. This project aims to conduct a comparative analysis to identify the consequence of size and light on the information processing capacities for visual navigation. Outcomes of this project will reveal the behavioural and physiological adaptations needed and the costs associated with navigating in the dimmest of habitats and at the smallest of sizes. Identifying such optimal biological solutions for robust navigation will be relevant for image processing, computer vision and robotics.Read moreRead less
Development Of Fish Health Indicators For The Gladstone Harbour Report Card
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$156,370.69
Summary
This application answers a request for Expressions of Interest for an FRDC and GHHP project to develop a fish sampling program and fish health indicators for the Gladstone Harbour Report Card. The project will review and test approaches, drawing on earlier work commissioned by GHHP (Cowled, 2016; Kroon et al., 2016).
Fish are key biological indicators of environmental contamination, as they are continuously exposed, ubiquitous in aquatic ecosystems, and play an important ecological rol ....This application answers a request for Expressions of Interest for an FRDC and GHHP project to develop a fish sampling program and fish health indicators for the Gladstone Harbour Report Card. The project will review and test approaches, drawing on earlier work commissioned by GHHP (Cowled, 2016; Kroon et al., 2016).
Fish are key biological indicators of environmental contamination, as they are continuously exposed, ubiquitous in aquatic ecosystems, and play an important ecological role (van der Oost et al., 2003). When employing fish as indicators of ecosystem health, most Australian programs consider assemblages and community structure. This approach is well-tested and simple to deploy. Its limitations are that extensive sampling can be required to ensure the monitoring program is spatially and temporally representative, avoids sampling gear bias and guarantees sufficient statistical power to detect change. The alternative approach is to measure indicators of individual fish health, such as morphometry, gross pathology, histopathology (Mishra and Mohanty, 2009), fish parasite load and diversity (Sasal et al., 2007) or chromosomal mutations (Pak et al., 2012). Other measures, such as bioaccumulation of contaminants, do not necessarily indicate poor fish health but can be useful for assessing ecosystem condition. Fish health indicators range from relatively low cost to high cost and complexity.
For this project, the preference is for testing and development of low-medium categories of indicators such as external examination, morphometry, gross pathology, parasite count and application of the health assessment index (Cowled, 2016). We will review suitable fish monitoring methods, develop and test cost-effective data collection approaches for Gladstone Harbour using adaptive sampling, evaluate the potential to transfer methods and indicators to similar areas, and produce fish indicators for inclusion in the 2017-18 Gladstone Harbour Report Card.
Future monitoring costs for 2019 are estimated at $45,324 (ex GST), not included in the budget.
Objectives: 1. To review and identify suitable methods to monitor fish health in the Gladstone Harbour. 2. To develop and implement a data collection approach by the end of June 2018 to monitor fish health in the Gladstone Harbour that is both cost-effective and suitable for a fish health indicator. 3. To evaluate the potential to adapt and transfer the methods and indicators developed to monitor fish health in other estuaries and ports in Northern Australia. 4. To develop fish health indicator(s) based on the data collected and apply them to the 2017-18 Gladstone Harbour Report Card. Read moreRead less
National Strategy For The Survival Of Line Caught Fish: A Review Of Research And Fishery Information
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$49,668.00
Summary
There is a need to collate, synthesise and review existing literature and sources of data available on release and post-release survival rates, research methodologies and management strategies for commercial and recreational line fisheries on a national basis, and, in the case where stocks/species/fisheries occupy more extensive geographic boundaries, internationally. The reviewed information should be in a form suitable for the steering committee on this nantional program to recommend further ....There is a need to collate, synthesise and review existing literature and sources of data available on release and post-release survival rates, research methodologies and management strategies for commercial and recreational line fisheries on a national basis, and, in the case where stocks/species/fisheries occupy more extensive geographic boundaries, internationally. The reviewed information should be in a form suitable for the steering committee on this nantional program to recommend further research in this field.
There is also a need for government management agencies and fisheries management advisory committees to provide advice on priorities for information on release survival rates that will ensure sustainable fisheries under their jurisdiction.
In addition, an accurate knowledge of release and survival rates for key species caught in our line fisheries is needed for the incorporation into stock assessment models.
Information on release and survival rates has been flagged as one of the necessary performance indicators for reporting on the ecological sustainable development (ESD) of fisheries (see multiple species indicators in SCFA - FRDC Project Report, May, 2001). Objectives: 1. To develop a benchmark on the current research and fisheries management information pertaining to the survival rates of released finfish taken in Australian line fisheries. 2. To determine the current gaps in this information and prioritise the addressing of these gaps. Read moreRead less
Transgenerational Consequences of Different Environmental Experiences. The project aims to deliver an integrative overview of behavioural, evolutionary and environmental epigenetics. In particular, by studying why stress-related experiences of organisms (e.g. exposure to toxins) can be passed onto the future generations regardless of its seemingly fitness-reducing impacts. It also aims to test if the seemingly beneficial effect of non-stress related experiences (e.g. environmental enrichment) ca ....Transgenerational Consequences of Different Environmental Experiences. The project aims to deliver an integrative overview of behavioural, evolutionary and environmental epigenetics. In particular, by studying why stress-related experiences of organisms (e.g. exposure to toxins) can be passed onto the future generations regardless of its seemingly fitness-reducing impacts. It also aims to test if the seemingly beneficial effect of non-stress related experiences (e.g. environmental enrichment) can be inherited transgenerationally. This project involves both research synthesis (e.g. meta-analysis) and experiments on zebrafish employing cutting-edge statistical, computational and molecular methods along with behavioural assays. Also, the outcomes of the synthesis are expected to guide future work in the field. Read moreRead less
Aquatic Animal Health Subprogram: Development Of A National Translocation Policy Using Abalone And Prawns As Templates For Other Aquatic Species
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$24,391.00
Summary
To maximize gains from the breeding programs they need to cross best performing stock. Where the stock is located in different States, there is a need to move the animals across state borders - preferably as animal or seed, but the ability to move gametes or larvae would be viewed as significant progress towards achieving the objectives of the program. The project leaders are also requesting that the business of selling genetically enhanced stock not be restricted to customers within state bor ....To maximize gains from the breeding programs they need to cross best performing stock. Where the stock is located in different States, there is a need to move the animals across state borders - preferably as animal or seed, but the ability to move gametes or larvae would be viewed as significant progress towards achieving the objectives of the program. The project leaders are also requesting that the business of selling genetically enhanced stock not be restricted to customers within state borders as this limit would make the program economically unviable.
This need for national translocation policies is becoming urgent with the steady but unpublicized increase in the number of aquatic animal hatcheries across Australia. To make the hatcheries viable, sales across jurisdictions in some industries are essential in some industries. Considering all aquatic animal species, not just abalone, Western Australia alone has in excess of seventeen aquaculture production hatcheries (as at August 2003) and this pattern is similar in other jurisdictions. Objectives: 1. To develop a single consistent translocation policy document for live temperate abalone, involving Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia, which is based on scientific risk assessment principles; recognizes that the disease status of wild abalone populations is still unclear; may recognize different zones of “risk” and is consistent with Australia’s international obligations. 2. To develop a single consistent translocation policy document for live prawns, involving Queensland, Northern Territory, New South Wales and Western Australia, which is based on scientific risk assessment principles; recognizes that the disease status of wild prawn populations is still unclear; may recognize different zones of “risk” and is consistent with Australia’s international obligations. 3. To indicate how these policies can be a template for other translocation issues. Read moreRead less
Spatial Interactions Among Juvenile Southern Bluefin Tuna At The Global Scale: A Large Scale Archival Tag Experiment
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$1,206,055.00
Summary
The SBT resource is estimated to be at historically low levels and biological concerns exist about the status of the stock (Anon. 1998, 2001). There is also large uncertainty about the sustainability of current catches. The advice from the CCSBT Scientific Committee’s stock assessment in 2001 was that under current catch levels there was a ~50% chance that the stock would continue to decline or increase. The 2002 CCSBT Scientific Committee concluded that there was no basis for changing its previ ....The SBT resource is estimated to be at historically low levels and biological concerns exist about the status of the stock (Anon. 1998, 2001). There is also large uncertainty about the sustainability of current catches. The advice from the CCSBT Scientific Committee’s stock assessment in 2001 was that under current catch levels there was a ~50% chance that the stock would continue to decline or increase. The 2002 CCSBT Scientific Committee concluded that there was no basis for changing its previous advice on catch levels. The current management practice in the CCSBT is based on a global total allowable catch (TAC) with no consideration or restriction on where the catch is taken. Genetic studies, along with the fact that there is only one known SBT spawning ground, have led to the conclusion that SBT comprises a single reproductive stock. However, tag return and catch distribution data suggest that there may be substantial spatial structuring and incomplete mixing of SBT among the major feeding areas. Spatial structuring of the stock would have large implications for SBT assessments and for managing the rebuilding of the SBT resource. The combined results from the SRP conventional tagging program and this proposed archival tagging project would provide the basis evaluating the need for and, if necessary for developing, spatially-explicit population assessment and management response.
There is a critical need for direct and improved estimates of juvenile fishing mortality rates (or equivalently recruitment) to reducing uncertainty in the stock assessments and to provide a robust evaluation of the sustainability of recent catch levels. The SRP conventional tagging program is intended to provide this information. However, in order to achieve this objective, it is essential that sufficient information is available to account for incomplete mixing and the spatial dynamics of SBT in the analyses of the results from the conventional tagging data.
Catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) indices are used to provide stock indicators of trends in the SBT stock size and form an essential input into the analytical stock assessment models. Interpretation of CPUE data is complicated by spatial and temporal variation in the availability and catchability of SBT in relationship to fishing effort. Interpretation of catch rates has been and continues to be a major source of uncertainty in the SBT stock assessment. The CCSBT Scientific Committee have repeatedly identified the need to develop alternative approaches for modeling and interpreting the SBT catch and effort data and this need has been incorporated into the agreed CCSBT SRP. Both availability and catchability are expected to vary with environmental conditions that modify the habitat suitability for SBT. Information for habitat-specific CPUE standardization was recognized as an important alternative approach for modeling catch rate data at the last CCSBT Scientific Committee meeting. This standardization approach takes into account changes in environmental conditions so that CPUE indices reflect the actual SBT habitat. This should allow the indices to more clearly reflect the actual changes in the abundance of SBT. This is especially critical as CPUE indices are seen as providing one of the key inputs in the decision-rule-based management procedure under development by the CCSBT. Thus, it is essential that to the extent possible that the CPUE indices provide a reliable indication of shorter term trends and that the CPUE signal is not confounded by short-term environmental fluctuations. Archival tags provide a unique tool for collecting the required habitat-specific requirements of SBT. Without such data, these habitat based standardization approaches are intractable. For example the archival tag data on vertical and horizontal distribution allow habitat preferences to be estimated, and CPUE standardization is possible.
In summary, this project aims to provide information to provide a substantial improvement in our current understanding of SBT movements and spatial dynamics. In particular, the proposal has been developed in response to three specific needs for an improved understanding of SBT spatial dynamics: 1. Estimation of mixing rates for the estimation of mortality rates from conventional tagging (particularly in the context of the large scale juvenile tagging program which is a high priority component of the CCSBT Scientific Research Program); 2. Habitat definition to allow the standardization of CPUE indices for use in the CCSBT stock assessment process; and 3. Requirements within the guidelines under the strategic assessment provisions of the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 that “the distribution and spatial structure of the stock(s) has been established and factored into the management response”. In addition to these three specific needs, there is a general need to ensure that the current stock assessment models are robust to their implicit assumptions about spatial homogeneity. Objectives: 1. Tag 150-200 juvenile SBT/year for 3 years with archival tags throughout the full range of spatial habitats in order to provide a comprehensive understanding of their spatial dynamics; 2. For each tag returned (expected to be ~ 20-30%) estimate daily positions based on the stored light and temperature data and develop a database for the storage and analysis of all relevant location, temperature and depth data; 3. Provide a comprehensive analysis of the evidence for temporal changes in the spatial dynamics of juvenile SBT and analyses of the implication of the information provided on mixing rate between themajor SBT fishing and their changes over time for the use of combined archival and conventional tagging data to provide fishery independent estimates of fishing mortaility for monitoring the SBT fishery. 4. Provide critical information and contribute to developing a framework for incorporating the archival tag and conventional tagging data within the SBT stock assessment model; 5. Integrate the position, temperature and depth data provided by the tags with oceanographic data to develop a seasonal model of residence times and habitat use for regions with consistent temporal patterns across the years; 6. Evaluate the implication from a seasonal habit model for the interpretation of future catch and effort data and monitoring strategies. 7. Evaluate implications of the spatial dynamics of juvenile SBT for the management of the SBT resource (e.g. the potential consequences and benefits of either ignoring or using spatially explicit management actions). Read moreRead less