Seagrass Strategic Review And Development Of An R&D Plan
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$178,918.00
Summary
FRDC has identified a critical need to obtain a stategic review of seagrasses and to develop an R&D plan to address seagrass-fisheries related issues. It has requested that CSIRO develop a proposal to address its needs. These include the need to: · determine the status of Australian seagrass research and knowledge · review of seagrass monitoring and assessment · review of knowledge of links between seagrass and fisheries sustainability · review knowledge on seagrass and fisheri ....FRDC has identified a critical need to obtain a stategic review of seagrasses and to develop an R&D plan to address seagrass-fisheries related issues. It has requested that CSIRO develop a proposal to address its needs. These include the need to: · determine the status of Australian seagrass research and knowledge · review of seagrass monitoring and assessment · review of knowledge of links between seagrass and fisheries sustainability · review knowledge on seagrass and fisheries management · review information on seagrass remediation and restoration projects . develop and R&D plan that includes key strategic areas, goals, priority research, a framework of how agencies will link and to define the various leadership roles. Objectives: 1. To review the status of Australian seagrasses with respect to the status of Australian seagrass research and knowledge. 2. To review the status of Australian seagrasses with respect to the status of seagrass monitoring and assessment. 3. To review the status of Australian seagrasses with respect to the status of knowledge of links between seagrass and fisheries sustainability. 4. To review the status of Australian seagrasses with respect to the status of knowledge of seagrass and fisheries management. 5. To review the status of Australian seagrasses with respect to the status of knowledge of remediation and restoration projects. 6. To develop an R&D plan that includes:. key strategic areas. goals . priority research. framework, how agencies will link e.g. EA, FRDC, State, etc. definition of leadership roles Read moreRead less
Implementation Of Fishery Independent Surveys For The Southern And Eastern Scalefish And Shark Fishery
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$3,349,385.50
Summary
Catch and effort data obtained from commercial logbooks is the primary source of information used as an index of abundance for most SESSF species. The assumption underlying this is that commercial catch rates change in a linear fashion with abundance. This assumption, however, has little independent support for many SEF species and is frequently criticised by industry and scientists alike. One of the most significant problems with commercial CPUE data in the SEF is that fishers modify their fish ....Catch and effort data obtained from commercial logbooks is the primary source of information used as an index of abundance for most SESSF species. The assumption underlying this is that commercial catch rates change in a linear fashion with abundance. This assumption, however, has little independent support for many SEF species and is frequently criticised by industry and scientists alike. One of the most significant problems with commercial CPUE data in the SEF is that fishers modify their fishing practices to suit quota availability and market demands. Also, many fishermen only put the retained catch in logbook data, not the total catch. Furthermore, the influence of environmental conditions on fish availability also reduces the effectiveness of CPUE as an index of abundance. Low or bycatch TACs also prevent catch rate data being used as an index of abundance.
Implementation of a fishery independent survey is the most cost-effective and feasible means to get an independent index of abundance for the suite of SESSF species.
Recognising this, the SESS Fishery Assessment Group (SESSFAG) has placed highest priority on the need to implement fishery-independent methods for surveying relative abundance of SESSF fish stocks. Objectives: 1. Review the current fishery independent surveys that are operating in the SESSF and determine their efficacy and potential for use in a multi-species survey. Determine which survey methods are most suitable for the main species in the SESSF. 2. Design a suite of cost-efficient fishery independent surveys that will meet the needs of the fishery in providing indices of abundance for most major species in the SESSF. Determine the most practical way of undertaking the surveys and gain broad stakeholder acceptance of the survey design. 3. Determine the cost structure for the surveys and how funding and research quota will be allocated. 4. Undertake a full one-year trial of the survey design. Review the results of the survey with respect to cost-efficiency, practicality and provision of high quality (precise) indices of abundance and modify the design accordingly. 5. Implement a long-term (5-10 year) survey program that can be progressively funded by industry under standard CRIS Policy Read moreRead less
Establishing Ecosystem-based Management For The South Australian Sardine Fishery: Developing Ecological Performance Indicators And Reference Points To Assess The Need For Ecological Allocations
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$799,999.00
Summary
Provisions of the Commonwealth Environment and Biodiversity Conservation Act require strategic assessment and, if necessary, mitigation of the ecological effects of fishing, including trophic impacts.
The strategic assessment of the South Australian pilchard fishery identified the need to measure and minimize the impacts of the fishery on the “broader ecosystem” and “to review the current ecological management objectives, management strategies and performance indicators”.
Provisions of the Commonwealth Environment and Biodiversity Conservation Act require strategic assessment and, if necessary, mitigation of the ecological effects of fishing, including trophic impacts.
The strategic assessment of the South Australian pilchard fishery identified the need to measure and minimize the impacts of the fishery on the “broader ecosystem” and “to review the current ecological management objectives, management strategies and performance indicators”.
However, operational ecological performance indicators and mitigating strategies have not yet been established for any pelagic fishery in Australia, and there is no agreed scientific framework for establishing these tools.
In recognition of - 1) the high profile of the SA pilchard fishery (as Australia’s largest pelagic fishery); 2) the important ecological role of pilchards in the Flinders Current Ecosystem; 3) the high economic value and conservation significance of the region’s marine predators; 4) and the sophisticated (single-species) stock assessment procedures and management arrangements that have been established, members of the South Australian pilchard fishery have identified the need to establish “world’s best practices” for managing the potential ecological impacts of the fishery. In response to this need, fishers have invested $620K to assess the role of pilchards in the Flinders Current Ecosystem and to begin to develop ecological performance indicators and reference points for their fishery.
Currently, there is no scientific framework to assess whether the management arrangements that have been established for the SA Pilchard Fishery are sufficiently conservative to ensure that fishery is managed according to the principles of ESD (i.e. that fishing does not significantly affect the status of other components of the ecosystem, Fletcher et al. 2002).
In recognition of the large data sets and extended timeframes that are needed to establish and assess ecological performance indicators and reference points for pelagic fisheries, members of the South Australian pilchard fishery have also agreed to invest a further $310K (cash) to support the additional ecological research that is outlined in this proposal.
This project addresses the pressing need to develop a scientific framework for establishing ecological performance indicators and reference points for pelagic fisheries. The focus on the SA pilchard fishery is necessary, as such a large and complex undertaking could only be contemplated in large and valuable fishery that has sophisticated stock assessment procedures and management arrangements in place, and can thus afford to allocate significant resources to support the establishment of an ecosystem-based management system.
This project is needed to refine the management plan for Australia’s largest fishery to include ecological perfomance indicators and reference points and to ensure that research and management systems for the fishery correspond with, or exceed, world’s best practice by incorporating scientifically-based approaches for assessing and, if necessary, mitigating, the fishery's potential trophic impacts.
Projects such as this are needed to maintain Australia’s position as the world leader in the ecosystem-based management of fisheries. Objectives: 1. To identify species of key marine predators that consume significant quantities of sardines and could potentially be used to assess the need for ecological and/or spatial allocations in the SA pilchard fishery. 2. To identify population parameters for these key marine predators, such as measures of foraging and/or reproductive success, that are likely to be affected by changes in the distribution and abundance of sardines, and which could potentially act as ecological performance indicators for the fishery. 3. To examine the spatial and temporal scales at which these performance indicators vary in order to develop reference points that could be used to assess the need (if any) to establish ecological allocations in the fishery. 4. To use the results of this study to revise the managment plan and establish cost effective systems for ongoing monitoring and assessment of the ecological effects of the SA sardine fishery. Read moreRead less
Objectives: 1. Allow continuation of the trawl fish survey off the NSW coastal shelf and slope. 2. This section of the project will chart the trawl grounds off NSW and determine the nature and extent of fish resources on these grounds
Factors Affecting The Toxicity Of The Dinoflagellate, Gambierdiscus Toxicus, And The Development Of Ciguatera Outbreaks
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$22,600.00
Summary
Objectives: 1. Define factors influencing ciguatoxin production by cultures of Gambierdiscus toxicus. 2. Examine reef disturbance effects & significance of genetic heterogeneity in G. toxicus in toxin production. 3. Establish requirements for growth & bloom formation by G. toxicus & other dinoflagellates