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.

Per- and poly-fluoroalklys (PFASs) are now emerging as pollutants with potentially catastrophic impact on aquaculture facilities. Two key research institutes have already demonstrated the presence of PFASs in marine fish broodstock and have observed impacts on offspring that are consistent with those observed in
literature studies. As testing continues there is the expectation that the number of facilities affected will increase. To compound the challenge our understanding of the impacts of PFASs on aquatic species is limited. In order to further assess these impacts, PFASs must be introduced into experimental systems in a
controlled fashion and therefore we must have the capacity to remove those pollutants before release. To protect our facilities and permit PFAS impacts research there is a need to rapidly assess available PFAS treatment technologies.