Local abalone populations can be severely depleted by a range of impacts, including loss of habitat from the spread of sea urchins, diseases such as AVG and Perkinsus, environmental change and theft. Many of these impacts have been increasing for over a decade, although impacts of sea urchins on abalone and reef habitats in the last 5 years have been spreading in eastern Victoria, and appear related to climate change. Similarly, impacts remain from the spread of AVG through western Victoria.

There is evidence that production from commercial abalone fisheries continues to be reduced by the ongoing increase in external impacts to local abalone populations. While tools have been developed at a small-scale to help recover abalone populations, there is a strong need to investigate, implement and assess these at a larger scale to be able to minimise further impacts and recover productivity of abalone populations.

VicFRAB this year rated its highest priority to facilitate the investigation of translocating abalone to address declines caused by urchins and disease. Similarly, the NSW DPI strategic research plan identifies a priority to "determine methods to restore depleted reefs of abalone through techniques such as transplants, habitat rehabilitation and reseeding". The ACA Strategic Plan also details actions to plan and support remedial action to reduce the impact of pests, disease and theft on abalone.

The ongoing spread of impacts to local abalone populations is having a broad impact on shallow reef habitats. Small-scale research has demonstrated the potential of recovery techniques, but have not been implemented at a broad scale to actually attempt to recover lost productivity. This project will address the need to investigate the scaling up of recovery techniques, and their costs and long-term benefits, in an attempt to recovery lost productivity from abalone populations in south east Australia.

Ocean Grown Abalone Pty Ltd has recently moved from a pilot-stage sea ranching operation to a small commercialised abalone sea ranching operation at the company's aquaculture lease site in Augusta, Western Australia. The pilot projects that have been undertaken to date have provided confirmation of the commercial possibilities for this form of abalone aquaculture, but more research is needed in order to fully understand the limitations of the operation and to maximise operation efficiency and therefore returns to the investors.

There is a need for fisheries data on catch/effort across all fisheries to be centralised and visualised. Closures that restrict access to fish resources, particularly fishing hot spots, need to be explained. Fishery data for Queensland tends to be unavailable to the public and when accessed it is fishery-specific. For the public, the lack of available data on fishing distribution and limits to access has led to uninformed debate that erodes the social licence of fishing, particularly commercial fishing because it is assumed Industry is unregulated and protective measures are not in place.

Visualization and metadata information will centralize and make available Queensland-wide spatial data. Furthermore, there is a need for detailed background information to enhance the value of these data to researchers and public users: linked to provide historical perspective on the implementation of each Queensland closure and the sequence of change. For this initiative to succeed, we emphasise public access to all users.

In 2014, this project would be cost effective as it would integrate into an existing database: the CSIRO Australian Marine Resource Spatial Management Atlas. The Atlas will accumulate an Australia-wide coverage of marine spatial management and provide free infrastructure for a detailed state-orientated initiative.

A repository for these data will enable spatial visualisation and analysis of key data (Kitsiou et al. 2002, Rodriguez et al. 2009). This would be useful for mediating the impact of infrastructure placement in locations adjacent to high fishing effort and areas closed to fishing. Future researchers will use the data via GIS and spatial analyses to consider alternative spatial management options, test specific scientific hypotheses and evaluate performance of current management. Cumulatively, the creation or expansion of port facilities (for example) potentially affects the distribution of fishing effort along sections of the Queensland coast.

Compliance, research and policy are the cornerstones of the tripartite approach to fisheries management and sustainability but there is a need for regulators to demonstrate that compliance programmes are delivering efficient and effective outcomes. Past experience with government audit and third party accreditation of compliance service delivery indicates that there is a lack of a credible, reviewable framework for measuring fisheries compliance outcomes that can readily demonstrate value for money and an assessment of quality.

Delivering effective fisheries compliance is expensive and while cost minimisation is generally admirable, reduction of compliance resources beyond a certain point will certainly lead to poor outcomes for sustainability and regulator reputation (Sutinen and Kuperan 1990). An inability to pinpoint critical minimum resourcing levels to maintain compliance outcomes is highly likely to result in reduction of resource levels below that minimum level.

Stakeholders in fisheries resources (both extractive and non-extractive) need fisheries compliance outcome measures for two reasons: to be assured that compliance resources are being optimally used to deliver efficient and effective compliance programmes, and to know that the management framework is effective and trigger changes if necessary. Subjective perceptions of adequacy are insufficient.

Suitable measures of compliance outcomes must be adaptable to different fisheries and sectors, practical for jurisdictions to implement, support management objectives and recognise that the governance framework itself may not be appropriate for optimal compliance. Fisheries management is often dynamic, biologically and politically, so any outcome indicators must be able to accommodate that dynamism.

This project addresses the FRDC Strategic Priority Area objective of "Develop more cost-effective, efficient regulatory processes and co-management arrangements" from Theme 5 of the Industry Program. It is relevant to the national research and development priority of an environmentally sustainable Australia and the rural research priority of natural resource management.