Traditional management approaches have in many cases failed to address equity, socio-economic, sustainability and environmental issues raised by stakeholders in fisheries from a local, or regional perspective. This has been particularly the case for inshore fisheries.

A range of 'local' issues were raised in the recent Regulatory Impact Statement and Draft Public Benefit consultation process for the Queensland East Coast Inshore Fin Fish Fishery. This project sets out to take an experimental approach to developing solutions to these concerns by investigating a limited number of local problems in a comprehensive manner, with the hope that they will assist in the development of models which can be used to tackle similar situations, both within Queensland and in similar fisheries around Australia, identified in the 2008 FRDC Inshore Fisheries Forum. The project will showcase the first attempts to adopt the 'Steps in implementing co-management' proposed in FRDC's 'Co-management' report (project no. 2006/068).

This project will support both the Queensland fishing industry and the Queensland Government's aspirations to develop improved partnerships between all stakeholders involved in the fishing industry, and through greater sharing of responsibility for management arrangements re-position the Fisheries Group's relationship in the 'management arena' as both a stakeholder and facilitator, in contrast to its historical role of authorising agent.

The implementation of this program will also assist in capacity building of the industry organisation (QSIA), particularly in terms of its readinesss to be involved with, and take a lead role in the development and assessment of new fisheries management tools in the new era of Ecosystem Based Fisheries Management (EBFM).

Demersal scalefish species account for between 11 and 17% of the total catch composition of the Western Australian Temperate Gillnet Fishery (1994 to 1999). Scalefish landings for 2005/06 amounted to 236t in the JASDGDLMF and the WCDGDLMF.

While demersal scalefish are a legitimate component of the catch, strong concern has been raised by the recreational sector, that considerable numbers of scalefish are dropping out of commercial gillnets, particularly iconic species such as West Australian Dhufish (Glaucosoma hebraicum), Blue Groper (Achoerodus gouldii) and Snapper (Pagrus auratus). As a result of this perception, conflict between recreational and commercial sectors has escalated substantially over the last five years.

In light of recent restrictions on recreational bag limits for iconic WA finfish such as G. hebraicum and P. auratus, the issue of scalefish ‘dropouts’ from commercial gillnets raises concern with respect to the catch efficiency and the ability of nets to retain demersal scalefish. The issue has the potential to negatively impact upon the security of future commercial access to the fishery.

Quantifying the number of scalefish that encounter nets, identifying species vulnerable to dropout and knowing where and when they are more likely to drop out of commercial gillnets (alive and dead) will complement existing catch composition data obtained by the DoF.

The WA Demersal Gillnet and Demersal Longline Association encourage the implementation of initiatives consistent with the principles of ecological sustainable development. Professional fishermen have expressed a willingness to investigate the claims of high dropout rates of finfish from gillnets, ensuring catch rates are sustainable and improving the public’s perception of the fishery. As the fishery is now undergoing pre-assessment for Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification, the need for accurate data to determine if demersal scalefish are dropping out of demersal gillnets is critical for an informed risk assessment of this fishery.

Application 2010/018: A "Crystal Bowl" for Barramundi was submitted to the FRDC 2010 round. While the application was rejected the Board indicated it was sympathetic to the approach described and suggested further discussion with Recfishing Research in the development of any future application. It is proposed that a further application be developed for the FRDC 2011 round addressing the issues raised by the Board.

The "Crystal Bowl" concept will underpin any move to regional management which is dependent on fine scale data collection on Barramundi in the Fitzroy River system and remains pivotal to the further development of the concept.

Data collected will also be used as baseline data for two coal port developments proposed by Xstrata for the Fitzroy River. These proposals are in their early stages. One proposal at Balaclava Island at the mouth of the river could impact on Barramundi and Threadfin spawning grounds and the other to barge coal down the Fitzroy River will significantly disrupt fishing activities. Discussions are underway with consultants for Xstrata to establish a monitoring program however this is unlikely to commence until the project are approved.

The data required is commercial catch, recreational catch and recruitment. Also required are the environmental conditions including connectivity of wetland lagoons, river flows and rainfall.

Data on commercial catch is available from Fisheries Queensland. CapReef, a community based monitoring program, has collected data on recreational catch since 2007 and recruitment since 1999. A further application for the "Crystal Bowl" will not be submitted until November 2010 and if approved would not commence until around June 2011.

Recent risk assessment work for elasmobranchs caught in marine fisheries has highlighted their vulnerability to fishing pressure and many species are now a high priority for research and management attention. This, combined with their key ecological role, and an increasing community awareness and attention on the sustainability of shark fisheries; as well as the need for increasingly efficient use of fisheries research funding, demonstrates the need for a defined framework for shark fishery RD&E, both nationally and regionally, and at a tactical and strategic level.

There is also a requirement to co-ordinate FRDC investments in RD&E projects for shark-associated fisheries with key national investments in infrastructure such as the IMOS Australian Acoustic Tagging and Monitoring System. The huge distances moved by individual sharks and the widely dispersed nature of many shark populations will require cross-jurisdictional research and management responses that should be informed by these new technological opportunities.

Given the constraints for fisheries RD&E funding, and recognising the business challenges confronting many fishing operators, shark related fishery RD&E must reflect management priorities and help deliver practical cost-effective solutions to identified problems. Furthermore, projects must demonstrate strong and relevant collaboration, both for efficiency and development of RD&E capacity. Without these, and other key attributes, shark-oriented RD&E will not achieve its potential to drive demonstrable improvements in management outcomes for these species and fisheries.