Characterisation of the inshore fish assemblages of the Pilbara and Kimberley coasts

Funded Activity Summary

Inshore demersal fish stocks in Australia’s north-west face increased exploitation pressure by an ever increasing number of recreational fishers in direct competition with an adjacent commercial fishing industry. There is, therefore, an urgent need to determine the species distribution and the composition of demersal scalefish resources in the inshore region of north-western Australia in waters outward from the shoreline to depths of 30 metres, including the documentation of the abundance and diversity of any significant finfish by-catch of prawn trawlers operating within the region, as a basis for formulating rational management plans for the exploitation of the demersal scalefish resource among user-groups.

The sharing of the inshore demersal fish resource in this region will require careful future management to ensure sustainability and avoid conflict among these user groups. This project will provide baseline information on the species composition and relative abundance of the inshore fishes of Australia’s north-west and identify possible nursery areas of species of commercial and recreational fishing significance which may need protection, possibly as nursery closures, in the future. Furthermore, in order to facilitate sagacious management plans and to safeguard the interests of commercial and recreational fishers, the baseline information on the nearshore fishery resources of the north-west provided by this study can be used to assess the impact of any possible access restrictions that may be imposed in areas nominated as future marine reserve sites in north-western Australia.

Objectives:
1. To determine the overall catch of the key species of commercial and recreational fishing significance (that is, the recreational catch, commercial catch and other landed catch).
2. To determine the species composition and relative abundance of the inshore demersal finfish resource from the shoreline outward to a depth of 30 metres along the inner-continental shelf in north-western Australia.
3. To determine the nursery areas of fish species of commercial and recreational significance in the Pilbara and Kimberley regions.

Funded Activity Details

Start Date: 06-09-2000

End Date: 19-03-2005

Funding Scheme: Funding Scheme not available

Funding Amount: $472,686.75

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

Fisheries Management | Fishing Gear | Habitat | Inshore | Population Dynamics

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