Abalone Council Australia Ltd Management Of The National Wild Catch Abalone Research, Development And Extension Program (2024 To 2029)
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$760,000.00
Summary
Implementing an Industry Partnership Agreement (IPA) was necessary to provide a more coordinated approach to RD&E and ensure that research funds were utilised in the more cost effective and strategic manner. It also “quarantined” funds to be overseen by the ACA for investment in Abalone specific research, giving the industry greater opportunity for input into the research that was funded and greater relevance of project outputs.
The second ACA/FRDC IPA expired in early 2024 and the AC ....Implementing an Industry Partnership Agreement (IPA) was necessary to provide a more coordinated approach to RD&E and ensure that research funds were utilised in the more cost effective and strategic manner. It also “quarantined” funds to be overseen by the ACA for investment in Abalone specific research, giving the industry greater opportunity for input into the research that was funded and greater relevance of project outputs.
The second ACA/FRDC IPA expired in early 2024 and the ACA Board and FRDC are now establishing a new IPA for the period 2024 to 2029.
Historically, industry’s focus has been on management and stock sustainability, although the potential for growth through higher harvest levels via upward quota adjustment is limited. Indeed, since 2011/12, the total annual harvest has fallen from 4,450t to 1965 t in 2023/2024 (a reduction of 56%). The decreasing productivity of Australian abalone fisheries may be attributed to a number of “complex” causes of which fishing mortality is but one; others include: habitat loss due to Centrostephanus urchin, environmental change & marine heat waves, disease outbreak (AVG, Perkinsus), and reduced natural recruitment, all of which reduce fishery productivity.
Please refer to the below table which clearly shows the decreasing productivity of all abalone fisheries in Australia.
State TACC in tonnes 2011/2012 TACC in tonnes 2017/2018 TACC in tonnes 2022/2023 TACC in tonnes 2023/2024 Tasmania 2366 1333.5 794.5 756 South Australia 834 717.5 564.4 544 Victoria 806 595.3 610.9 457 Western Australia 349 143.4 123.5 108 New South Wales 94 100 100 100 TOTAL 4450 2889.70 2193.3 1965
Notwithstanding the lower harvest levels, the industry remains a significant exporter with a total GVP around $135 million in 2023/24.
Objectives: 1. To coordinate the planning, implementation, and reporting of abalone related R&D projects funded by the FRDC to achieve the outcomes specified in the third ACA Strategic Plan. Specifically, this must be at both the National level and regionally across WA, SA, VIC, NSW and TAS. 2. To facilitate the abalone industry participation in FRDC projects and the extension and utilization of the project results. 3. To deliver resources and processes that consolidates and coordinates Abalone related RD&E planning and funding so that overall RD&E outcomes are delivered in an efficient and cost-effective manner. Read moreRead less
Developing And Testing A Cultural Change Process In The NSW Wild Harvest Sector: A Case Study To Facilitate A Process Towards Co-management In The NSW Northern Fish Trawl
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$201,339.23
Summary
In a scan of FRDC projects with “co-management” in the title five projects identify a need for a culture change to allow co-management, but none provided a process by which such culture change could occur.
The NSW wild harvest industry needs support with culture change skills to allow the Industry Vision to become real. The Industry Vision speaks to fisheries management built on co-management and stakeholder consultation. The current culture of the fishing industry is limiting the indus ....In a scan of FRDC projects with “co-management” in the title five projects identify a need for a culture change to allow co-management, but none provided a process by which such culture change could occur.
The NSW wild harvest industry needs support with culture change skills to allow the Industry Vision to become real. The Industry Vision speaks to fisheries management built on co-management and stakeholder consultation. The current culture of the fishing industry is limiting the industry from being an active participant to this vision. Unless this is urgently addressed the combative relationship between industry and Government will not change.
We focus on developing a process of culture change involving both the seafood sector and government. A new culture will underpin and support initiatives between government and the seafood sector. Co-management provides a tangible goal for the participants in this project, but the need being addressed is testing and developing of a process of culture change explicitly for seafood industry and government agencies.
The Industry Vision needs stakeholders to adopt new ways of thinking, relating, and working so they are receptive to the Industry Vision. Significant growth in this sector is possible, in NSW landings of fish could grow as much as 30% (Smith et al 2019). Unless the industry has confidence to commit to the long-term future of the fishing industry and encourage young fishers to see this future this value will never be realised.
This project will pilot an culture change approach never tried in the seafood industry to: • identify and explain the current relationship dynamics between industry and regulators ; • design and implement a suite of projects to transform the relationships to build a trusting and collaborative culture; • develop the framework and practices that will enable and support self-perpetuating culture change.
There is goodwill and intent by NSW Government to move forward to strong working relationships with industry eg Harvest Strategy Working Groups, and a culture change process will provide the confidence to invest in building relationships and being engaged.
Objectives: 1. To establish a group of industry and government leaders/mentors to provide an enduring resource to assist the NSW Northern Fish Trawl sector to facilitate cultural and strategic change to move towards an agreed co-management model and a profitable fishery 2. To design a set of activities/projects to assist industry and government stakeholders to embark on a journey of shifting their beliefs and behaviours to support a viable and highly functional co-management process for the NSW Northern Fish Trawl sector 3. To enable stakeholders from government and from the NSW Northern Fish Trawl sector to participate in a co-management process that guides a stewardship framework to navigate the management, research, and compliance of aquatic resources Read moreRead less
Developing Spatial Based Assessment Methodologies And Tools For Small Scale Dive Fisheries: Case Study Of The Tasmanian Commercial Dive Fishery
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$298,378.34
Summary
The Tasmanian Commercial Dive Fishery (TCDF) is transitioning from a fishery with minimal controls on catch with no annual assessment, to a carefully managed fishery with annual robust fishery assessments. Two of the three key species Shortspined Sea Urchin (Heliocidaris erythrogramma) and Wavy Periwinkle (Lunella undulata), have similar life histories to abalone, while the third – Longspined Sea Urchin (Centrostephanus rodgersii), has an intermediate life history. All three species have a time- ....The Tasmanian Commercial Dive Fishery (TCDF) is transitioning from a fishery with minimal controls on catch with no annual assessment, to a carefully managed fishery with annual robust fishery assessments. Two of the three key species Shortspined Sea Urchin (Heliocidaris erythrogramma) and Wavy Periwinkle (Lunella undulata), have similar life histories to abalone, while the third – Longspined Sea Urchin (Centrostephanus rodgersii), has an intermediate life history. All three species have a time-series of catch and effort data, and some level of biological data, and thus don’t fall into the class of data-poor fisheries. However, just as for haliotid fisheries, all the complexities identified by Orensanz et al (1995) for S-Fisheries (small-scale, spatial structured, sedentary target species) apply here, meaning that integrated assessment models assuming Dynamic Pool should not be used. Instead, Empirical Harvest Strategies based on standardised catch rates are the most appropriate approach to underpin annual assessments and determination of stock status. Given the similarities between these species and abalone (life history, habitat, fishing practices), it is desirable to utilise the considerable investment in research on data collection and assessment methods in that fishery. This project will therefore attempt to adopt and adapt ground-breaking research on Abalone, including utilization of high-resolution spatial data from GPS and depth data loggers, as a short-cut to worlds best practices in the TCDF.
Consideration of stock status for the TCDF species to date has been on the basis of graphical inspection of crude catch rates. As Empirical Harvest Strategies rely heavily on robust catch rate metrics, adopting a model for standardizing catch rates is a critical step for the TCDF fisheries. While there are a diversity of philosophies around catch rate standardization, choosing the optimal standardization model is only part of the challenge. The key challenge for the three key TCDF species are that catch is spatially and temporally fragmented. Both urchin species are highly seasonal, and Shortspined Sea Urchin and Wavy Periwinkle fisheries are spatially discrete with a few high catch areas, and a larger proportion of spatially and temporally disparate low productivity fishing grounds. Similarly, catch is largely landed by a small number of highly active participants, with a larger number of primarily part-time fisheries. This fragmented nature (time, space, people) of the dataset creates challenges for applying standardisation models to establish a robust time-series. Primarily this manifests as highly volatile time-series, that can flip above or below Reference Points over consecutive years. In some fisheries, this challenge is addressed by fitting a multi-year running mean through catch rates, essentially smoothing the trend. While this might have the desired effect of removing hyper-variability in catch rates, it will slow action required as the stocks decline, as well slow catch increases under rebuilding. Preferably, we will instead use environmental variables, quantify fisher experience and make use of fine-scale location data on fishing activity in our catch rate standardization methods.
An additional complication in the Tasmanian Commercial Dive fishery is mixed species fishing. This feature is also present in a sub-set of assessment areas within the Tasmanian Abalone fishery where H. rubra and H. laevigata co-occur, as well as in the Central and Western Zone abalone fisheries in South Australia. Developing a clear catch rate signal in these mixed species fisheries is challenging and an optimal solution has not yet been found, although spatial and depth information most likely will enable differentiation of fishing grounds across species. Through this project we will engage with South Australia specifically to collaborate on logger based approaches to improve assessment of mixed species fishing regions.
As with abalone fisheries, TCDA divers are able to modify their in-water fishing behaviour (swim faster and further) to achieve desired daily catches which has the effect of masking decline in abundance. However, this is not the only form of hyperstability expected in the TCDA fisheries. The highly fragmented stock structure and diver experience are likely to interact to create a second form of hyperstability more common in emerging fisheries, and that is serial depletion, or at least serial fishing of discrete patches. This latter form of hyperstability occurs when more experienced divers with greater knowledge are able to move when more accessible patches become over-exploited.
Local scale depletion is addressed by the establishment of size limits for Wavy Periwinkle and the Shortspined Sea Urchin. Robust size limits have recently been adjusted for Wavy Periwinkle (increase from 30 to 45 mm; FRDC 2011-024) and Shortspined Sea Urchin (increase from 60 to 75 mm FRDC 2017-033); No size limit is intended to be set for range-extending Longspined Sea Urchin, as the objective in this fishery continues to be to achieve localised depletion.
From the 2022/2023 season diver GPS and depth loggers will be compulsory to collect detailed spatial information about the fishery. Several key divers have been using dataloggers for the past eight years, providing a valuable time-series from the more experienced TCDF fishers. The availability of such data creates a new opportunity and leads to the key aim of this project, to develop methodologies and tools to incorporate the detailed spatial catch data into formal stock assessment and harvest strategies. In doing so, methods to facilitate the accurate standardisation of historical logbook data to facilitate transition into logger data to preserving the continuum of the time series is required. The development of reliable fishery dependent assessment metrics is essential in these smaller fisheries where there is no scope for cost-prohibitive fishery independent surveys.
In summary, this project is needed to develop strategies to produce robust standardized catch rate trends, that can be utilized in an Empirical Harvest Strategy. Spatial based Catch Per Unit Effort (CPUE) measures and spatial performance indicators and indices of hyperstability will be critical to facilitate the creation of appropriate stock assessment and harvest strategies for small scale dive fisheries, including smaller haliotid fisheries.
Objectives: 1. Determine optimal methods for production of time-series trends by standardisation of spatially and temporally fragmented fishing events. 2. Contrast suitability of effort measured as dive time vs area fished as the basis for catch rates (catch/effort) for highly spatially discrete target species. 3. Develop a strategy for determining reference periods and reference points for use in an Empirical Harvest Strategy. 4. Adapt the Tasmanian abalone Empirical Harvest Strategy for use in the TCDF. 5. Test for the presence of hyperstability in catch rates within the TCDF, and where appropriate, develop options to modify Empirical Harvest Strategy Control Rule settings accordingly. 6. Identify additional performance measures for inclusion in the Empirical Harvest Strategy 7. To build the capacity and capability of key stakeholders to contribute to the development of Tasmanian Commercial Dive Fishery (TCDF) assessment methodology and harvest strategy, facilitate succession planning, and lay a foundation for dive fishery assessment development nationally. Read moreRead less
Bursaries To Fund Three South Australian Recreational Fishing Community Members To Attend The National Recreational Fishing Conference 2019
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$4,994.78
Summary
Co-management is an arrangement whereby responsibilities and obligations for sustainable fisheries management are negotiated, shared and delegated at appropriate levels between government, recreational fishers, Aboriginal traditional fishers, the commercial fishing industry and other key stakeholders such as conservation groups (Neville 2008).
The Minister’s Recreational Fishing Advisory Council (MRFAC) was formed to improve dialogue and communication between recreational fishers and G ....Co-management is an arrangement whereby responsibilities and obligations for sustainable fisheries management are negotiated, shared and delegated at appropriate levels between government, recreational fishers, Aboriginal traditional fishers, the commercial fishing industry and other key stakeholders such as conservation groups (Neville 2008).
The Minister’s Recreational Fishing Advisory Council (MRFAC) was formed to improve dialogue and communication between recreational fishers and Government. The primary role of the MRFAC is to provide feedback and advice to government on recreational fishing development issues, initiatives and policies that impact the recreational fishing sector. The MRFAC strives to pursue opportunities to improve the co-management arrangements for the recreational fishery.
In 2010/11 an engagement project was undertaken by PIRSA to better understand what recreational fishing means to people and what future they want for their sector. Discussions generated consistent themes and issues of concern to recreational fishers, including sustainable fishing, ongoing access, funding and leadership, governance, education and promotion of the sector.
The outputs from this project identified opportunities for incorporating 'grass roots' input from the recreational sector into fisheries management processes in South Australia (Rowling et al. in prep) must include public consultation opportunities and participation in (1) technical working groups; (2) regional recreational committees; & (3) community forums.
This project aims to enhance these jurisdictional-based opportunities by increasing national-level capacity building opportunities for members of the South Australian community. In addition to the personal development aspect, the ability to create connections and links to the recreational community leaders from other states and territories will be invaluable to the future stewarding of the South Australian Recreational Fishing community. Objectives: 1. To ensure increased participation of South Australian Recreational community members in national Recreational forums 2. Increased provision of pathways and opportunities to assist in better representing the Recreational community on both a state and national level. 3. Increased education and knowledge building opportunities for individual members of the South Australian and Australian Recreational Fishing Community 4. Increased capacity building opportunity for members of the South Australian Recreational Community 5. Support in increasing attendance and networking opportunities for the recreational community across states and territories with a view to increase linkages and information sharing nation-wide Read moreRead less
Planning, Developing And Coordinating National/regional Research, Development And Extension (RD&E) For Australia's Recreational Fishing Community
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$243,805.72
Summary
There is a persisting need to provide for the continued planning and implementation of targeted and effective Research, Development and Extension (RDE) activities that address regional and national priorities for the recreational fishing community. In consultation with the newly established Recreational Fishing Council, the project team plan to implement a robust and inclusive annual process for the identification of regional and national R&D priorities for Australia's recreational fishers. The ....There is a persisting need to provide for the continued planning and implementation of targeted and effective Research, Development and Extension (RDE) activities that address regional and national priorities for the recreational fishing community. In consultation with the newly established Recreational Fishing Council, the project team plan to implement a robust and inclusive annual process for the identification of regional and national R&D priorities for Australia's recreational fishers. The proposed approach will deliver increased complementarity between state/territory and national R&D planning processes. This project will also enable Australia's recreational fishing community to become more engaged in the active management of projects addressing regional and national priorities, and will increase the visibility of R&D activities to a national audience.
This project will address several national RD&E priorities within FRDC's RD&E plan 2010-2015, including assisting the fishing community to understand the vulnerability of fish stocks and ecosystems to climate change (Theme 3), improving knowledge of the biology of target species (Theme 4), assisting development of techniques for incorporating social and economic information from recreational fishers into harvest strategy evaluation systems and enhancing adoption of best practice by rec fishers and understanding of their demographics, motivations, catch and effort (Theme 4), enhancing participation in co-management (Theme 5), and clarifying the rights of recreational fishers, and other stakeholder expectations about resource access and allocation (Theme 6). Objectives: 1. Proactively work with the recreational fishing community to facilitate identification of national and regional RD&E priorities annually, and development of projects to address those priorities. 2. Assist FRDC with management of a portfolio of projects which provide significant flow of benefit to the recreational fishing sector. 3. Continue to be a driver for the extension of R&D results to facilitate desired outcomes. 4. Facilitate co-investment in RD&E which benefits the recreational fishing community nationally. Read moreRead less
Building Industry Capacity To Lead Co-management Initiatives Within The Bass Strait Central Zone Scallop Fishery: Training Industry To Conduct Biomass Estimate Surveys
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$90,462.00
Summary
There is a need to develop capacity within industry in order to progress future co-management initiatives in the Bass Strait Central Zone Scallop Fishery (BSCZSF). Central to future co-management initiatives will be industry’s ability to collect data in a systematic and scientific manner that is robust and reliable to inform management decision making. Industry needs to be trained to coordinate and collect data. This data may also deliver cost savings when compared to the current pre-season biom ....There is a need to develop capacity within industry in order to progress future co-management initiatives in the Bass Strait Central Zone Scallop Fishery (BSCZSF). Central to future co-management initiatives will be industry’s ability to collect data in a systematic and scientific manner that is robust and reliable to inform management decision making. Industry needs to be trained to coordinate and collect data. This data may also deliver cost savings when compared to the current pre-season biomass surveys.
The unprecedented impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have forced industry and management to review existing research and management processes to ensure the on-going viability Australia’s fishing industry. Whilst the scallop fishery has to date been largely shielded from the impacts (a seasonal effect) there is tremendous uncertainty about the coming fishing year and markets. There is now a need to re-think the data collection processes for this fishery and provide the industry with the opportunity and capacity, under a co-management approach, to cost-effectively collect data to inform management decisions.
The coming season provides the perfect opportunity for the first steps into a new co-management paradigm. The biomass in western Bass Strait waters are significant, with many in the industry saying it’s the highest in over 40 years of fishing. Based on the 2019 TAC, the maximum harvest fraction last season was less than 9% of the surveyed biomass, noting it was even lower, as the TAC remained under-caught. Furthermore AFMA have recently announced that the formal pre-season biomass estimation survey will not proceed in 2020 due the uncertainties surrounding the impacts of COVID-19.
This project will investigate industry’s capacity to coordinate in-season biomass surveys and provide the opportunity for industry to understand the requirements to undertake formal scientific studies.
Objectives: 1. Build industry capacity to lead and participate in fishery data collection projects 2. Industry coordinated data collection to inform biomass estimation of the fishery 3. Industry coordinated data collection and data analysis to inform decision making and develop co-management arrangements Read moreRead less
Dynamic evolution of mutation rates: causes and impacts on genomic analysis. This project aims to illuminate the role of variation in mutation rate in driving evolutionary change. Mutation rate is a core parameter in evolutionary analyses in essential applications including epidemiology, conservation and medicine, yet remains a “black box” given arbitrary universal values. This project will take a whole-of-biodiversity approach to understanding the forces shaping mutation rate, impact on evoluti ....Dynamic evolution of mutation rates: causes and impacts on genomic analysis. This project aims to illuminate the role of variation in mutation rate in driving evolutionary change. Mutation rate is a core parameter in evolutionary analyses in essential applications including epidemiology, conservation and medicine, yet remains a “black box” given arbitrary universal values. This project will take a whole-of-biodiversity approach to understanding the forces shaping mutation rate, impact on evolution of biodiversity and effect on accuracy and precision of phylogenetic analyses. Using Australian case studies, the expected outcome of this project will be a greater understanding variation in mutation rate between species, providing significant benefits in developing more sophisticated and reliable phylogenetic analyses.Read moreRead less
Earth's Dynamic Topography Through Space and Time. A key component of Earth’s topography remains enigmatic. This so-called dynamic topography is transient, varying in response to convection within Earth’s mantle. This project aims to use a data-driven computational approach to: (i) reconstruct the evolution of dynamic topography over the recent geological history of our planet (Cenozoic Era, 0-66 million years ago); and (ii) uncover the mechanisms controlling its spatial and temporal evolution. ....Earth's Dynamic Topography Through Space and Time. A key component of Earth’s topography remains enigmatic. This so-called dynamic topography is transient, varying in response to convection within Earth’s mantle. This project aims to use a data-driven computational approach to: (i) reconstruct the evolution of dynamic topography over the recent geological history of our planet (Cenozoic Era, 0-66 million years ago); and (ii) uncover the mechanisms controlling its spatial and temporal evolution. This transformational new understanding will connect the evolution of our planet's surface environments to its deep interior, revealing the impact of dynamic topography on sea level change, flooding, river networks, groundwater systems, habitat development and the distribution of economic resources. Read moreRead less