Trophodynamics of the GAB: assessing the need for an ecological allocation in the SA pilchard fishery

Funded Activity Summary

PIRSA Fisheries Policy Group and the SA pilchard industry have identified an understanding of the trophodynamic role of pilchards as a key management need for this fishery.

Strategic assessment of the fishery against ESD principles (e.g. Fletcher et al. 2002) is likely to identify the absence of knowledge of the ecological role of pilchards as a significant issue.

Provisions of the Commonwealth Environment and Biodiversity Conservation Act, and Environment Australia guidelines that require strategic assessment of the ecological impacts of fishing, including trophic impacts, are particularly relevant for large fisheries that target an important prey species, such as the SA pilchard fishery.

The potential trophic effects of fishing can be potentially overcome by establishing appropriate ecological allocations.

This project will collect, synthesize and interpret data on trophodynanamic processes in the GAB that are required to assess the need for an ecological allocation in the SA pilchard fishery.

The long-term project will also address the need for principles and guidelines to assessing the need for and size of ecological allocations in fisheries that may influence trophodynamic pathways and ecological interactions in ecosystems with high conservation value.

Objectives:
1. To establish methods for estimating of primary and secondary production in eastern GAB.
2. To establish methods for measuring the importance of pilchards in the diets of key predators in the eastern GAB.
3. To establish methods for comparing the growth rates and reproductive success of these predators in areas/periods of high/low fishing pressure and pilchard abundance.
4. To establish a conceptual ecosystem model and develop a preliminary pelagic trophodynamic model for the eastern GAB.
5. To develop a proposal for comprehensive study to assess the need for an ecological allocation in the SA pilchard fishery.

Funded Activity Details

Start Date: 31-08-2003

End Date: 16-05-2005

Funding Scheme: Funding Scheme not available

Funding Amount: $420,690.00

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

Biodiversity | Ecosystem | Fisheries Management | Food Web | Laboratory Procedures | Modelling | Oceanography | Population Dynamics

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