The Australian sea lion (Neophoca cinerea) is the only endemic species of Australian pinniped and is listed as Vulnerable under the EPBC Act due to historical reduction in numbers, declining population trends, limited biological productivity and continued bycatch in various fisheries. Measures to mitigate sea lion mortality in the Commonwealth's Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery include extensive gillnet fishing closures that have led to significant displacement of fishing effort. Despite the measures to protect South Australian sea lion colonies, pup production has been estimated to have declined at most South Australian colonies and overall by 2.9% per year or 4.4% per breeding cycle between 2004-2008 and 2014-2015 (Goldsworthy et al., 2015).

Gillnet exclusion areas have also been proposed in the Western Australian Demersal Gillnet and Demersal Longline Fisheries, however these have not yet been implemented, in part due to uncertainties in the current status of most Western Australian sea lion colonies and risk of unintended consequences from displaced fishing effort. Despite the high level of conservation concern for this species and the severity of fishery management measures aimed at reducing their bycatch mortality, abundance has not been estimated for most WA colonies since the early-1990s (Gales 1993). Contemporary assessments of colony status are therefore required to identify the WA colonies that are most at risk from depletion (either through fisheries bycatch or other natural or anthropogenic processes) and guide effective conservation decisions.

Historically, monitoring has involved a 'boots-on-the-ground' approach to count the numbers of pups being born. However, this approach is expensive, logistically difficult, hazardous and entirely dependent on accurate estimation of the timing of colony-specific pupping seasons. It is therefore proposed to evaluate the feasibility and cost-effectiveness of remote camera methods to collect alternative sea lion abundance estimates.

Australia’s aquarium industries are high value (collectively GVP values >$20 million), small scale fisheries that rely on exporting CITES listed corals for profitability and viability. The Australian government requires fisheries collecting and exporting CITES listed species to demonstrate that their harvest is sustainable. This is achieved through the provision of a successful non-detrimental finding and accrediting the fishery as an approved Wildlife Trade Operation (WTO) under the EPBC Act. There is growing international pressure for Australia to unequivocally demonstrate sustainable collection practices for CITES listed species. However, data-poor fisheries like the aquarium fisheries, struggle to provide sufficient quantitative data supporting the non-detrimental use of CITES listed species. This has resulted in severe restrictions on allowable harvest levels tied to WTO approvals and industry viability is at risk.

Many of the coral species taken by the marine aquarium industry across northern Australia are in inter-reef turbid water environments that are poorly studied. In addition, many of the species are documented as rare or uncommon although they may be locally abundant in these turbid waters environments. A recent Ecological Risk Assessment of the Queensland Coral Fishery (May 2013) identified the priority need to fill these data gaps to better quantify the level of impact on corals from commercial collection.

Abundance baselines for these species are required to demonstrate sustainable use and support export approvals. Species identification of harvested corals also needs to be clarified as this information is critical for aligning catch data with scientific information on the vulnerability of different coral species. This will lead to the development of monitoring protocols for the industry, and in the longer term, to demonstrate sustainable harvest.