Crustacean fisheries (such as those targeting rock losters, crabs and prawns) contribute more than a billion dollars to the Australian economy annually. Population models for stocks that support these fisheries often rely on indirect measures of age (e.g. size-modal analysis) which can confound estimates of other life history parameters and introduce errors into the modelling process.

A method to directly age commercially exploited crustaceans (by counting growth bands in calcified regions of the eyestalk and/or the gastric mill) has been developed by Dr Raouf Kalida at the University of New Brunswick, Canada and published last year. His technique has the potential to substantially improve the precision of stock assessments on crustacean fisheries around the world.

There is a need to transfer this technology to fisheries research agencies in Australia so that we can better understand growth patterns in crustaceans, reduce uncertainty in crustacean population models and provide better advice to fishery managers. This in turn should lead to improved management practices and greater stability in the national crustacean harvest, noting that production by several crustacean fisheries is also strongly linked to environmental factors.

The most effective means to address this need is to host Dr Kalida in Australia for a period of time to share his knowledge of crustacean ageing and provide guidance to domestic fisheries scientists working in the field. The proposed project aligns with a number of FRDC Strategic Priority Areas including: Theme 4 (Ecologically Sustainable Development), Theme 13 (Innovation Skills) and Theme 14 (Extension and Adoption).

As the seafood sustainability debate in Australia moves forward, the dialog is increasingly not just between industry and government, but also with a range of marine conservation-focused NGOs. Industry needs positive dialog with these groups to build up trust and ultimately cooperation on sustainability issues.

Fishers have often been blamed for much that is wrong with the marine environment. However fishers understand that fishing and conservation are natural bedfellows as their livelihood depends on sustaining the ocean ecosystem and the resources within.

The seafood industry therefore needs to highlight the long-term benefit of balancing the need for conservation against the need for food and other services. In the UK there is a broad seafood industry perspective that fishers must be recognised as an essential part of building a sustainable future for the marine environment.

Phil, has been working in this field for the UK seafood industry for the past 20 years. Initially engaging with environmentalists when the rest of the industry thought it was 'crazy' to do so. He successfully managed to bridge the gap between conservationists, industry and government and for the last 10 years has run the UK's sustainable fishing advisory group, which brings together industry, conservationists and government membership.

It is felt that the seafood industry would greatly benefit and gain positive outcomes from the experience Phil has gained over the last 20 years. This is an opportunity to improve the communication, respect and cooperation between industry and conservationists that is so sorely needed.