Inter-rater Reliability And Predictive Validity Of A New Functional Capacity Evaluation For Chronic Back Pain
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$105,794.00
Summary
Back pain costs the Australian community tens of billions of dollars. Back pain is one of the main causes of work injury and lost time from work. The longer a person is off work, the harder it is to get them back to work. Workers' compensation systems around Australia aim at getting the injured worker with back pain back to work as soon as possible. One of the difficulties in this process is determining what the person with back pain can physically do in the workplace. An evaluation technique, c ....Back pain costs the Australian community tens of billions of dollars. Back pain is one of the main causes of work injury and lost time from work. The longer a person is off work, the harder it is to get them back to work. Workers' compensation systems around Australia aim at getting the injured worker with back pain back to work as soon as possible. One of the difficulties in this process is determining what the person with back pain can physically do in the workplace. An evaluation technique, called functional capacity evaluation (known as FCE), is one method used to find out what the person with back pain physically can and cannot do. In a FCE, a trained health professional such as an occupational therapist, observes the person performing a range of physical activities like the ones he or she may have to perform in a job. The therapist closely observes the person performing activities such as lifting, carrying, kneeling, crouching, balancing, and walking and notes any limitations in the person's ability to complete the activities. The therapist makes comments about what difficulties the person may have on the job and recommendations about how these could be reduced or eliminated. The information gained from these evaluations can be valuable for the treating doctor in deciding whether the person is ready to go back to work and what duties the person can and cannot do on the job. Because of such value they provide, FCE is commonly used in rehabilitation programs endorsed by workers' compensation systems around Australia. This widespread use and endorsement of FCE occurs despite limited research on the soundness of the ratings made from these evaluations. There is a need to see whether recommendations made from FCEs are consistent between therapists (i.e. reliable) and to see if the FCE accurately predicts the person's physical capacity for work. This research will examine these issues with injured workers with back pain.Read moreRead less
This project will address key aspects from four highly ranked SSJF research priorities as established by SquidRAG in 2005:
1. Understanding spatial distribution and the effects of environmental variability on squid. 2. Entrapment versus attraction, discovering the biological differences between jig and trawl caught squid. 3. Growth, reproduction, mortality and productivity 4. Squid predator-prey relationships
Research needs for the newly proposed tar ....This project will address key aspects from four highly ranked SSJF research priorities as established by SquidRAG in 2005:
1. Understanding spatial distribution and the effects of environmental variability on squid. 2. Entrapment versus attraction, discovering the biological differences between jig and trawl caught squid. 3. Growth, reproduction, mortality and productivity 4. Squid predator-prey relationships
Research needs for the newly proposed targeted mid-water trawl squid fishery for the GAB will also be addressed.
This project also sits squarely within two strategic goals within the FRDC R&D Program 1 Planned Outcome- Natural Resource Sustainability: (1) “To increase and apply knowledge of the biology of fish and their ecosystems” and (2) “To increase and apply knowledge of interactions between fish and their ecosystems”.
Previous research has established important biological parameters for arrow squid, it has also highlighted large temporal and spatial variability. This variability coupled with the extreme fluctuations in fishery production hinders successful management.
Understanding the role the environment plays in arrow squid population dynamics will help develop models and pinpoint periods when conditions are conducive to squid growth and recruitment.
Understanding whether different techniques (jig vs. trawl) target different components of the population is significant especially for future policies on total allowable effort (TAE).
Understanding squid diet is also important for ecosystem management (ie.; especially for the proposed GAB fishery that will also be harvesting potential prey).
It was recognised at the Canberra meeting that Australia does not have the capacity to undertake broad-scale pre-season recruit net surveys, but using both light trapping of recruits and ecosystem modelling were seen as feasible techniques for understanding recruitment and stock fluctuations.
Both the SquidMAC and the SquidRAG see ongoing research as extremely important for future informed management of the fishery. Objectives: 1. To investigate the influence of environmental and oceanographic variables on arrow squid growth and recruitment 2. To investigate the ecology, population dynamics of squid in the newly proposed mid-water trawl GAB fishery 3. To compare the biological composition of jig and trawl-caught squid 4. To describe the key components, spatial and temporal variability and environmental influences on the diet of arrow squid 5. To assess the use of light traps as samplers of juvenile squid recruitment 6. To develop an ecosystem model based on squid predator-prey relationships for squid stock assessment 7. To provide SquidMac with better information on environmental influences on stock fluctutations to assist in determining trigger points for the fishery 8. VARIATION TO CONTRACTOBJECTIVE 5 "To assess the use of light traps as samplers of juvenile squid recruitment" is still an objective of teh project but has been discontinued beacue this method was considered inappropriate as arrow squid were not attracted by the light traps" 9. VARIATION TO CONTRACTOBJECTIVE 3: "To compare the biological composition of jig and trawl-caught squid" Read moreRead less
Tactical Research Fund: Synthesis Of Existing Information, Analysis And Prioritisation Of Future Monitoring Activities To Confirm Sustainability Of The Red-legged Banana Sub-fishery In The Joseph Boneparte Gulf
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$53,440.00
Summary
The Northern Prawn Fishery (NPF) received certification under the Marine Stewardship Council in 2013, becoming the first tropical prawn fishery in the world to receive ecocertification under this process. Certification was conditional upon a number of actions being addressed. Included among them was the need to demonstrate, using robust scientific information, that fishing in the JBG sub-fishery is not having adverse impacts on at-risk species, vulnerable habitats or ecosystems.
To main ....The Northern Prawn Fishery (NPF) received certification under the Marine Stewardship Council in 2013, becoming the first tropical prawn fishery in the world to receive ecocertification under this process. Certification was conditional upon a number of actions being addressed. Included among them was the need to demonstrate, using robust scientific information, that fishing in the JBG sub-fishery is not having adverse impacts on at-risk species, vulnerable habitats or ecosystems.
To maintain certification under the MSC, NPF Industry Pty Ltd must undertake a number of actions by September 31 2013. They include: - evaluating existing information to confirm its suitability for understanding key ecosystem elements in the JBG, understanding the nature, distribution and vulnerability of main habitat types present, and monitoring at-risk species (where identified). Identify deficiencies/gaps; - implementing a program of activities to address deficiencies/gaps where required; and, - using existing and newly implemented (as required) research and monitoring activities to assess the status of at-risk species, vulnerable habitats and ecosystems in the JBG sub-fishery.
This proposal will seek to progress these actions. Failure to do so would jeopardise ongoing certification of the NPF. Objectives: 1. Determine the feasibility of using and extending the existing observer coverage of the NPF to monitor the at-risk species identified through the ERA process 2. Assess all available spatially-explicit information on habitats and their proxies (seascapes, bioregions, environmental envelopes, geomorphs, etc.), and develop a detailed plan to identify the nature, distribution and vulnerability of main habitat types in the JBG 3. Assess whether existing information available is sufficient to understand key ecosystem elements (including target species, bycatch species and habitats) in the JBG fishery Read moreRead less
The 4th International Fisheries Observer Conference
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$20,000.00
Summary
By-catch from fishing methods is one of the most significant issues facing the world’s fisheries. Over the past decade or so, researchers in Australia, the US and Canada have been quite successful at reducing some of the more serious by-catch problems, particularly those concerning the huge discarding and wastage problems associated with trawling. Various projects have shown that the most effective way of reducing discards is to follow a staged scientific protocol involving: (i) identifying an ....By-catch from fishing methods is one of the most significant issues facing the world’s fisheries. Over the past decade or so, researchers in Australia, the US and Canada have been quite successful at reducing some of the more serious by-catch problems, particularly those concerning the huge discarding and wastage problems associated with trawling. Various projects have shown that the most effective way of reducing discards is to follow a staged scientific protocol involving: (i) identifying and quantifying by-catches to determine places and times of particularly problematic by-catches and (ii) doing experimental tests of modified fishing practices that reduce the identified by-catches. The ONLY way to achieve the first, quantification stage accurately is to have scientific observers going out on typical fishing trips to record information on catches and discards (these are termed Observer Programmes). Significant advances in identifying and quantifying by-catches have been made in several countries, including Australia, the US and Canada through Observer Programmes. As well as quantifying bycatches and discarding, Observer Programmes have proven invaluable in providing information on levels of compliance of commercial fisheries to regulations and codes of conduct. They also provide excellent material for biological work on species that would otherwise be very expensive or problematic to collect (e.g. gut contents, sizes, age information, otoliths etc.), operational information on fleet dynamics and changes in fishing effort. Such programmes are also increasingly being used as on-deck extension and educational services, teaching fishers first-hand about a range of scientific, compliance and management issues.
In 1998, Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the United States’ NOAA Fisheries sponsored the first of a series of biennial international conferences on Fisheries Observer Programmes. This series of conferences (previously held in Seattle, St. Johns and New Orleans) brings together the key stakeholder groups, scientists, technicians and managers responsible for the design, management and safe delivery of at-sea fisheries observer programs throughout the world. It provides the main international forum to address the many facets of these very important data-gathering programmes. NSW Fisheries has been successful in the bid to host the 4th International Fisheries Observer Conference in Sydney in November 2004.
The hosting of this conference in Sydney has been discussed and endorsed at the last 3 meetings of the AFMF Research Committee. Objectives: 1. To bring together a broad representation from the international fisheries community to address most of the key issues concerning the establishment, execution and use of fisheries observer programs. Read moreRead less
Development And Cost-benefit Analysis Of An Electronic Observer System To Monitored A Remote Small Vessel Commercial Fishery
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$40,488.18
Summary
Monitoring of remote small vessel fisheries in Australia is often difficult and always costly. Travel costs, observer wages, and operational inefficiencies and restrictions of small vessels in accommodating on-board observers are all factors which act to restrict monitoring coverage while still incurring a relatively high cost to industry. With the a growing need for accurate catch and effort data and the high costs and operational restrictions of using human observers there is a subsequent need ....Monitoring of remote small vessel fisheries in Australia is often difficult and always costly. Travel costs, observer wages, and operational inefficiencies and restrictions of small vessels in accommodating on-board observers are all factors which act to restrict monitoring coverage while still incurring a relatively high cost to industry. With the a growing need for accurate catch and effort data and the high costs and operational restrictions of using human observers there is a subsequent need to find a cost effective alternative that will not only improve coverage levels but also reduce costs. Objectives: 1. To determine if an electronic monitoring system is a feasible alternative to on board observers for species identification, and the quantification of discarded and retained weights in a remote fishery. 2. To determine the full range of costs and benefits of implementing an Electronic Monitoring System. 3. To compare the full range of cost and benefits of an electronic monitoring system with the full range of costs and benefits of on board observers. Read moreRead less
Facilitating Industry Self-management For Spatially Managed Stocks: A Scallop Case Study
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$300,992.94
Summary
Both the Tasmanian and Commonwealth scallop fisheries are recovering from severe depletion. In an attempt to ensure future sustainability of the fishery, a form of spatial management has been implemented in both jurisdictions, however, specific management protocols are still evolving. This proposal follows naturally from some of the results of FRDC 2003/017, which is investigating some of the management rules used in scallops. One conclusion from 2003/017 will be that the optimal management regi ....Both the Tasmanian and Commonwealth scallop fisheries are recovering from severe depletion. In an attempt to ensure future sustainability of the fishery, a form of spatial management has been implemented in both jurisdictions, however, specific management protocols are still evolving. This proposal follows naturally from some of the results of FRDC 2003/017, which is investigating some of the management rules used in scallops. One conclusion from 2003/017 will be that the optimal management regime for widely dispersed scallop beds is to close most of the fishable area only opening a limited number of beds each year in a rotational fashion. One essential requirement for such management is the need for detailed information about the size and abundance of scallop beds across the entire fishery. Fishery-independent surveys would be far too expensive in a cost-recovery management regime - in Commonwealth waters relatively small surveys have cost at least $45000 to $50000 a year and that would not cover the area now available. Therefore, the only economically viable means of providing this information is to devise some means of encouraging Industry members to collect the necessary information both prior-to and during fishing seasons. Ad hoc trials were attempted in Tasmanian waters in 2003, which led to the identification of many operational problems with such surveys. Once these practical problems have been overcome, credibility and authority also need to be added to such fishery dependent surveys.
The vision of this project is of an on-going Commonwealth and Tasmanian scallop fishery managed at a small spatial scale using information provided by Industry itself in the absence of formal independent observers. Such a vision relies on Industry becoming a vital component of the management, and thus requires the development of protocols to ensure the growth in participation and expertise for industry-run sampling. This vision has still to be developed in detail but reflects the needs and wishes of Industry for better economic returns to fishers, while ensuring the long-term sustainability of the fishery.
If the general principles of such Industry initiatives are developed in the scallop fishery, then other spatially managed fisheries should be able to develop similar regimes, leading not only to better management but greater industry involvement in management. Objectives: 1. Develop a generalized, credible regime of Industry observations to provide the necessary assessment information required to manage a spatially structured fishery. 2. Develop and trial a workable design for a pre-season permit fishery in the Tasmanian and Commonwealth scallop fisheries to provide the information necessary to characterize the stock status in each spatial region of the entire fishery (Size distribution, condition, and possibly abundance). 3. Develop and trial a workable design for within season volunteer Industry survey observations within the Tasmanian and Commonwealth scallop fishery for within season monitoring, comparison with the pre-season survey, and more detailed characterization of the available resource. 4. Develop mechanisms whereby Industry take (foster) ownership over the details of survey design and the organization and funding of such operations, along with how best to generate management advice that is perceived by Industry as unbiased, acceptable to all, and providing maximum return for product landed. 5. Aid the development of a clear vision for the future of the Bass Strait scallop fishery and how it can use spatial management to its own benefit. Read moreRead less
Developing Integrated Performance Measures For Spatial Management Of Marine Systems
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$805,294.00
Summary
The need to report on the ecologically sustainable use of marine systems, that have been ‘zoned’ at a variety of spatial and temporal scales is gaining considerable support in Australia and world-wide. MPAs and other spatial management arrangements are being introduced in most Australian management jurisdictions through the NRSMPA process and at the Commonwealth level through Regional Marine Planning under Oceans Policy. Clearly, spatial management, particularly expressed as MPAs, is here to s ....The need to report on the ecologically sustainable use of marine systems, that have been ‘zoned’ at a variety of spatial and temporal scales is gaining considerable support in Australia and world-wide. MPAs and other spatial management arrangements are being introduced in most Australian management jurisdictions through the NRSMPA process and at the Commonwealth level through Regional Marine Planning under Oceans Policy. Clearly, spatial management, particularly expressed as MPAs, is here to stay. For example FRDC suggests that nations will set targets such as 20% of the coastal zone for high degrees of protection through MPAs (FRDC R&D Plan 2000-2005).
The objectives of MPAs are usually to achieve ESD for the regional ecosystem and for the various sectoral users of the ecosystem. For example, the benefits to fisheries are often listed to be to increase the spawning biomass, to act as an insurance policy against fishery management errors, to protect critical habitats to damp ecosystem wide fluctuatons and to provide reference sites to be used in fishery resource assessments. However, while some studies have shown that the harvesting regimes for specific areas within a system can change biomass, density, size of organisms, quality of habitats and species diversity, the causes of the extent and nature of these changes at various spatial and temporal scales impedes the selection of performance indicators.
The use of MPAs is a relatively new approach to marine management and is at a very early stage of development. For example the use of other management tools includes the use of performance assessment and the triggering of management responses under different circumstances. In fisheries this is commonly through the periodic review of catch or fishing effort levels in relation to stock condition. The policy descriptions of the use of MPAs and spatial management, for example in Oceans Policy also makes reference to the use of such adaptive management, but the methodology to enable and guide this has not net been developed. This was highlighted at the recent World Congress on Aquatic Protected Areas and FRDC’s workshop on R & D priorities where it was clear that the current state of the science limits the ability for performance assessment.
It is not yet clear under what circumstances specific areas within large systems contribute to the system as a whole, and the way in which large system behaviour influences areas within it . Globally spatial area management, as illustrated by MPAs, is receiving considerable attention as ‘new’ tool to control over-exploitation of fish stocks (eg Pauly et al 2002). In a recent review Ward et al (2000) state that there are “...very few examples where benefits to a fishery (as opposed to the closed area ) have been well studied and documented”. Similar conclusions are being drawn in other reviews currently appearing (e.g. Halpern in press). Socio-economic impacts are even less well studied (Sanchirico 2000).
Without such performance assessment managers and resource users may become locked into sub-optimal management arrangments, and if MPAs and other area management arrangements are not working as intended then achieving goals such as Ecologically Sustainable Development may be unknowingly at risk. Consequently, even with objectives that are clearly defined and agreed by all stakeholders, the most challenging work still remains as how to evaluate performance.
Victoria is committed to range of activities to ensure marine systems are managed for ecological sustainability. Recent initiative include reforms to the management of abalone, rock lobster and the establishment of marine protected areas, these together with National Oceans Office planning for the South-East Region, provides a major opportunity for this work to be undertaken. In addition, the NOO have identified integrating fisheries spatial management and MPAs as an action in the South East Regional Marine Plan.
This project does not address whether or not there should be MPAs rather it is designed to develop an effective means to assess the performance of the system and the MPA within it. We will build on previous work but more importantly extend the scope to include fishery ecosystem considerations as well as direct impacts on target species and biodiversity. Objectives: 1. Through an analysis of monitoring data from existing marine system management egimes (including MPAs) and an identification of observational approaches that are available to be used, develop simple biophysical and management models of impact and response at various spatial scales. 2. Use these models to develop and evaluate measures to report performance for specified management objectives particularly in respect of power to detect change. Read moreRead less