A technical review of formal fisheries harvest strategies.

Funded Activity Summary

Since the HSP was introduced in 2007 there has been a great deal published both nationally and internationally concerning the development and application of harvest strategies. This work needs to be reviewed for new technical content, especially with respect to new and developing methodologies for stock assessments and risk evaluation, and how the new work relates to issues that have been identified in the current HSP. For example, a 10 July 2012 letter from DAFF to FRDC identified issues arising from the review of the harvest strategy policy as a key research priority.

The HSP is generally regarded as successful. However, the review has identified aspects of the policy, the guidelines, and its implementation, that might be improved to better meet the policy’s objectives. Areas of improvement include consideration of appropriate limit reference points based on trophic role or the biological characteristics of different groups of species (e.g. teleosts vs. chondrichthyans), incorporation of spatial management, approaches to setting total allowable catches (TACs) in multispecies fisheries, data-poor stocks (including byproduct), rebuilding strategies and indicators of economic performance. This project will review the latest publications relevant to those priority areas along with research work in progress so as to provide the HSP advisory committee with technical advice on potential improvements to these aspects of the existing policy. Evaluation of current research and developing technologies will provide a basis for a revised policy to incorporate greater flexibility in responding to shifts in stocks and ecosystems from environmental drivers, such as climate change. This work will ultimately contribute to continued improvements in the economic performance and sustainability of Commonwealth fisheries and will have relevance to shared fisheries, fisheries in other jurisdictions, and internationally.


Objectives:
1. A detailed review of the extent and effectiveness of implementation of the Commonwealth Fisheries Harvest Strategy Policy and harvest strategies across Commonwealth fisheries, including the identification of potential performance measures
2. A technical overview paper for consideration by stakeholders and Australian Government agencies as part of the review of the Commonwealth Fisheries Harvest Strategy Policy and Guidelines.

Funded Activity Details

Start Date: 01-09-2012

End Date: 28-02-2013

Funding Scheme: Funding Scheme not available

Funding Amount: $80,000.00

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

Harvest Strategy | Publication

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