Quantification of changes in recreational catch and effort on blue swimmer crabs in Cockburn Sound and Geographe Bay

Funded Activity Summary

A current estimate of the recreational catch and fishing effort for blue swimmer crabs is needed following the recent introduction of management measures designed to change the commercial/recreational composition of the catch in Cockburn Sound and Geographe Bay. The size of the recreational and commercial catches and fishing effort for these embayments is specifically needed to assess the performance of the reallocation package that has been applied. The total catch and fishing effort (recreational and commercial) will enable the refinement of the management packages for these fisheries to maintain agreed resource shares.

This assessment is also required to confirm, for the two fishing sectors, that the management methodology adopted has achieved its objectives. Should this be confirmed, the project will become a case study for use by the Resource Sharing Advisory Committee recently setup by Fisheries WA as part of the Integrated Coastal Fisheries Initiative.

These embayments have been the source of considerable debate and controversy between recreational and commercial fishers. The major obstacle to the resolution of fishery management and resource sharing issues in Cockburn Sound and Geographe Bay is the lack of current data on the recreational catch.

Objectives:
1. To estimate the boat-based and shore-based recreational catch, fishing effort and size composition for blue swimmer crabs in Cockburn Sound and Geographe Bay during 2001/02.
2. To report on the relative recreational and commercial catch shares for 2001/02 and to compare the results with earlier years.
3. To quantify and evaluate changes in the recreational catch, catch rates and fishing effort following resource-sharing changes since the previous survey in 1996/97.
4. To compare the length frequency data of the recreational catch of blue swimmer crabs relative to commercial catches in these areas.

Funded Activity Details

Start Date: 23-07-2001

End Date: 01-05-2004

Funding Scheme: Funding Scheme not available

Funding Amount: $135,780.00

Funder: Fisheries Research and Development Corporation

Research Topics

ANZSRC Field of Research (FoR)

There are no FoR codes available for this funding activity

ANZSRC Socio-Economic Objective (SEO)

There are no SEO codes available for this funding activity

Other Keywords

Co-Management | Compliance | Data | Fisheries Management | Modelling | Policy | Recreational Fishing | Workforce

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