Indicators For Density And Biomass Of Exploitable Abalone – Developing And Applying A New Approach
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$147,900.00
Summary
Most jurisdictions have developed and used various combinations of indicators in stock assessment and TAC setting of their abalone fishery. Applications often use a time series of commercial catch rate or FIS density to detect trends and identify reference points of stock status. The use of fishery dependent indicators from logbooks and GPS loggers have been criticized for their potential to be biased and insensitive (‘hyper-stable’) because of commercial selection of all observations that are ....Most jurisdictions have developed and used various combinations of indicators in stock assessment and TAC setting of their abalone fishery. Applications often use a time series of commercial catch rate or FIS density to detect trends and identify reference points of stock status. The use of fishery dependent indicators from logbooks and GPS loggers have been criticized for their potential to be biased and insensitive (‘hyper-stable’) because of commercial selection of all observations that are made. As a consequence, Fishery Independent Surveys (FIS) have also been used in stock assessment, with varying coverage in all state’s abalone fisheries. However, FIS have also been criticized for their large cost and considerable uncertainty about how representative and useful the data is for intensely spatially-structured abalone fisheries (e.g. spatial mismatch of the FIS and the stock). FIS reviews in several states found variable relationships between FIS estimates and other indicators of the fishery.
Alternatively, both GPS loggers and FIS have considerable complementary strengths. GPS logger information has strengths of extensive fine-scale detail about catch (e.g. allowing spatial standardisation, that represents one of the main challenges to fishery dependent data) with good coverage of the fishery, while FIS have strengths of repeatable and local scale detail that is independent of the fishery.
The project will review data available from GPS loggers, catch records and FIS in WZ Victoria, with possible extension to other fisheries depending on data access and funding. Methods to calculate density and biomass from different sources of data will be consolidated and applied at different spatial scales, and the precision and statistical coherence of estimates compared. These comparisons will enable the development of criteria to improve design of FIS, logger programs and related observations, and recommendations and guidance on the use of indicators of legal density and biomass in fishery harvest strategies.
Objectives: 1. Use the Victorian Western Zone (and other fisheries data, where available) as a test-bed to develop and evaluate a new approach to calculating density and biomass indicators of exploitable abalone. 2. Consolidate methods to calculate indicators of local exploitable density from reported catch, GPS logger and fixed site survey observations. 3. Assess the consistency, accuracy and reliability of these new indicators, and their likely performance for management decisions 4. Develop and apply new methods to (i) calibrate logger-derived local density from overlap of local observations of loggers and surveys, (ii) use logger observations to estimate the area fished and to which the calibrated local density estimates could be extrapolated to apply, and (iii) combine the density and area estimates to give an index of exploitable biomass in the fished area. 5. Provide criteria for the design of surveys, logger programs and related observations (e.g. the spatial scale of catch reporting) to give calibrated logger density and biomass indicators. 6. Provide recommendations and guidance on the use of indicators of exploitable density and biomass in fishery harvest strategies. 7. Provide training to develop capacity to understand and implement the approach with logger data. Read moreRead less
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Assessing The Capacity For Sustainable Finfish Aquaculture In The Vicinity Of Seagrasses
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$478,825.00
Summary
Globally, aquaculture accounts for over 50% of fish production. However, if poorly planned, rapid expansion to meet the ever increasing demand for seafood brings with it an environmental risk associated with eutrophication and organic enrichment of the seabed, adversely affecting marine coastal ecosystems. Approximately 75-85% of the nitrogen discharged from finfish aquaculture is dissolved and dispersed to nearby habitats. A major spatial constraint on aquaculture in nearshore areas around much ....Globally, aquaculture accounts for over 50% of fish production. However, if poorly planned, rapid expansion to meet the ever increasing demand for seafood brings with it an environmental risk associated with eutrophication and organic enrichment of the seabed, adversely affecting marine coastal ecosystems. Approximately 75-85% of the nitrogen discharged from finfish aquaculture is dissolved and dispersed to nearby habitats. A major spatial constraint on aquaculture in nearshore areas around much of Australia is the potential for these dispersed nutrients to negatively affect seagrasses. Seagrasses can be sensitive to increases in nitrogen, which can lead to habitat loss. This loss can have significant environmental and economic impacts with potential losses of ecosystem services including decreases in commercial and recreational fisheries catches, increases in sand instability and erosion, reduced biodiversity, loss of nitrogen assimilation and cycling, and loss of carbon sequestration.
In other situations, small increases in nutrients may have a positive effect on seagrasses, and thus it is not clear what the consequences of aquaculture derived nutrients will be. Subsequently, we can’t robustly determine the level of finfish aquaculture that can be sustainably supported by seagrass ecosystems. There is therefore a need to develop a process to determine the likelihood of seagrass growth (or loss) due to aquaculture derived nutrient inputs. This work will develop metrics that can be used in other aquaculture developments and in long-term regional monitoring.
Clean Seas Seafood Pty Ltd are developing a new lease for the sea-cage aquaculture of 4500 tonnes of yellowtail kingfish (YTK) in the Fitzgerald Bay region. The nearshore habitats throughout the region are dominated by long-lived Posidonia seagrass. While Fitzgerald Bay was the original focus of YTK aquaculture in SA, it has not been utilised for ~10 years, essentially giving us the potential to study this system prior to the commencement of aquaculture (currently planned for ~ July 2019), as well as while production is increasing, and it thus provides an ideal case study for assessing how to sustainably farm finfish in a seagrass dominated ecosystem.
Objectives: 1. Determine cost-effective approaches to assessing the influence of finfish aquaculture derived nutrients on seagrasses, and using Fitzgerald Bay as a case study, what that influence is. 2. Develop a predictive modelling ability to estimate carrying capacity and allow scenario analysis of future aquaculture development and how it might affect seagrasses, to allow managers to make informed decisions about where to place future developments, and how much to allow existing developments to expand. 3. Use Fitzgerald Bay as a case study to document seagrass condition using a range of metrics both before the commencement of finfish aquaculture, and once production has reached a substantial level. 4. Develop a range of cost-effective indicators for monitoring the effects of aquaculture on adjacent seagrass beds. Read moreRead less
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