Low cost management regimes for sustainable, small low-value fisheries based on coastal inshore species

Funded Activity Summary

Low cost, practical management regimes for small-scale, low-value fisheries are desperately needed, to ensure long term sustainability for these fisheries without the need for resource hungry management frameworks. While management should focus on output regimes to provide business cases to support investment, input regimes should also be considered. The level of data and/or resource poverty for these low-value/small-scale fisheries is often such that they lack formal data collection protocols. Associated challenges in providing guidance, even at the level of basic data collection regimes, can include limited literacy and numeracy, and profound associated cultural issues associated with indigenous sectors.

A logical first step is to undertake a desktop study that provides guidance and a recommended approach to developing management regimes. This has been long been flagged as a priority by the Northern Territory for its small-scale, low-value fisheries, including those with an indigenous and/or community emphasis.

The focus would be on developing a kernel for advice that is informed by a starting-point case study. The multi-sector N.T. Spanish Mackerel Fishery would be considered in the first instance, but with proactive awareness that guidance should be developed in a format that is able to be more generally adapted. Work would be undertaken in close collaboration with state/territory agencies and indigenous liaison teams.

The innovative nature of the project lies in providing pragmatic, practical, stepwise guidance provided to date to explicitly confront and address the extreme data poverty and, to a lesser extent, the profound cultural issues associated with small-scale, low-value fisheries.

Where appropriate, the project will apply the general advice from the new National Harvest Strategy Guidelines. It will also be enhanced by i) the experience of the project team within the Commonwealth context, and in providing general guidance to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), for data-poor fisheries; and ii) the experience, local knowledge and trusted reputation of the N.T. members of the project team.


Objectives:
1. To review and inventory existing approaches for management regimes for small-scale fisheries, with emphasis on low-cost approaches.
2. To provide a guidelines document of advice and recommendations for the development of management regimes for small-scale, low-value fisheries, according to fishery family/archetype.
3. To use the NT Spanish Mackerel Fishery as a case study to inform and refine the guidelines document for one fishery family/archetype.
4. Via the case study fishery, to consider how to incorporate multiple sector objectives and how best to engage relevant stakeholders, in the context of pragmatic management regimes
5. In association with relevant management agencies, develop a new proposal to apply the guidelines to additional case study fisheries, and to continue the engagement with the Spanish mackerel fishery.

Funded Activity Details

Start Date: 01-07-2015

End Date: 01-07-2017

Funding Scheme: Funding Scheme not available

Funding Amount: $89,889.00

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)

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Other Keywords

Co-Management | Community | Cost | Fisheries Management | Harvest Strategy | Input management | Inshore | RAC NT | Stakeholder

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