Australian Sea Lions (ASL) have been known to interact with the gillnet sector of the Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery (SESSF) for some time but the nature and extent of these interactions have been poorly understood. On 30 June 2010 AFMA implemented the Australian Sea Lion Management Strategy. A component of this strategy requires that observer coverage in the fishery be increased from approx 2.6% to at least 11% in the South Australian gillnet sector of the SESSF. This increased level of monitoring is designed to detect interactions with Australian sea lions and provide an indication of accuracy of predicted level of interactions suggested in the report by Goldsworthy et al (2010). Given the rare nature of the interactions, significant increases in human observation at or above this level are unlikely to be economically sustainable in the longer term and digital monitoring including cameras have been proposed as a viable alternative. Onboard camera monitoring has the potential to improve fishery management outcomes cost effectively.
AFMA is currently undertaking e-monitoring trial featuring onboard cameras in the Eastern Tuna and Billfish Fishery and the Northern Prawn Fishery to assess the capacity of onboard cameras to collect data cost effectively. Early indications from these trials are positive. This project differs from the ETBF as it focuses on an investigation of the equipment to collect a significant proportion of the data currently collected as part of the Independent Scientific Monitoring Program (ISMP) including protected species. In addition the capacity of onboard cameras to capture interactions between fishing operations and Australian sea lions in the Shark gillnet fishery is unknown. The proposed project will be designed to enable a detailed cost benefit analysis of onboard camera monitoring in gillnet and fish trawl fisheries to test this hypothesis.

ETBF Pilot Progect
In 2007, an AFMA commissioned cost benefit study and business case showed reduced costs if electronic monitoring technologies were adopted in several Commonwealth fisheries. However, there is considerable uncertainty regarding the extent to which onboard observer coverage can be replaced in the ETBF and the costs involved in intergrating electronic monitoring into AFMA management practices. This pilot project will collect suffiecient information to enable an in-depth cost benefit analysis of future monitoring options. It will resolve the uncertainty surrounding the utility of electronic monitoring technologies in the ETBF and the costs associated with integrating an electronic monitoring program within AFMA.

In addition to the time and cost savings from reduced onboard observer requirements, there are also potential efficiencies for both industry and AFMA from the use of electronic monitoring reporting. Some of these efficiencies include;
1. better understanding of fishing effort,
2. better understanding and management of fishing operations, and
3. increased data accuracy (resulting in more responsive fisheries management).

Pilbara Trawl Fishery Pilot Project
Monitoring of remote small vessel fisheries in Australia is often difficult and always costly. Travel costs, observer wages, and operational inefficiencies and restrictions of small vessels in accommodating on-board observers are all factors which act to restrict monitoring coverage while still incurring a relatively high cost to industry. With the a growing need for accurate catch and effort data and the high costs and operational restrictions of using human observers there is a subsequent need to find a cost-effective alternative that will not only improve coverage levels but also reduce costs.