Similar to the development process of the previous plans, an industry-government workshop is proposed to be held in late 2020 to consider the review’s findings and consult industry and governments on priority issues to be included in the 4th AQUAPLAN. The workshop would be organised and supported primarily by APHP staff, in conjunction with FRDC, and funding is required to hold the workshop in a venue that maximises attendance from key stakeholders (i.e. in a convenient location). The workshop will be held 18-19 March 2020 and planning will need to begin as soon as possible.
Workshop participants would include representatives from industry (including wild catch, aquaculture and ornamental fish sectors), Commonwealth and state and territory governments, and other government and non-government agencies (e.g. CSIRO Australian Animal Health Laboratory, Fisheries Research and Development Corporation and Animal Health Australia).

Statistics on Australian fisheries production and trade provides a source of information for a range of purposes. The information can be used to meet the needs of the fishing and aquaculture industry, fisheries managers, policymakers and researchers. It can assist in policy decisions, industry marketing strategies and the allocation of research funding or priorities. The gross value of production for specific fisheries are used for determining the research and development levies collected by government. The neutrality and integrity of GVP estimates is therefore important due to their forming the basis for research levies for each fishery. At the international level, the Department of Agriculture through the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) contributes to a number of international databases. These include databases managed by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Information at the international level can assist in international negotiations on issues such as transboundary fisheries and analysis of trade opportunities.

A national recreational fishing survey of social and economic contribution is proposed for 2017-18.

The recommendation of the 2015 scoping study for a national recreational fishing survey was to implement a phone-diary survey to deliver the multiple objectives of assessing recreational catch, effort and socio-economic information. Since the focus of the proposed survey has now shifted to specifically focus on the socio-economic aspects of recreational fishing there is a strong need to reassess the priority questions and data needs of key stakeholders relating to this objective and re-assess the most appropriate survey technique to deliver a statistically robust and stakeholder relevant socio-economic survey.
Note: extrapolation from small, unrepresentative, or biased sampling can lead to large errors in survey estimates and in recent times, certain recreational fishing surveys have produced questionable results due to such factors.