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Industry
PROJECT NUMBER • 2016-213
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Building economics into fisheries management decision making - to utilise a suite of SA case studies

The aim of this project was to develop a set of economic analysis guidelines for use at an individual fishery level to aid harvest strategy and other fisheries management decisions. The project sought to demonstrate how economics can be incorporated in fisheries management frameworks in lower value...
ORGANISATION:
Econsearch Pty Ltd

Tropical fish traps – addressing ghost fishing impacts and refinements to catch reporting/sampling

Project number: 2022-164
Project Status:
Current
Budget expenditure: $150,000.00
Principal Investigator: John Wakeford
Organisation: Austral Fisheries Pty Ltd
Project start/end date: 31 May 2023 - 31 May 2025
:

Need

The negative impacts of lost fish traps ghost fishing are well documented and of concern to all parties involved with the sustainable harvest of seafood from the aquatic environment (Macfadyen et al 2009; Newman et al 2011; Vadziutsina & Rodrigo 2020). Essentially, lost fishing gears that continue to kill/harm fish represent an inefficiency in the fish production process, and in essence are a form of waste associated with the harvesting process, that ultimately reduces the yield and casts a bad light on the fishery itself. This project does not meet any specific FRDC priority in the current round, hence the lodgment under (Other), although because of what it attempts to address and minimise, it is likely to gain strong support from those concerned with appropriate management of fisheries i.e., minimising the wasteful use of renewable food resources at a time when there is a food crisis in the world, with parties including the FRDC, AFMA, ENGO's and the fishing industry.

Objectives

1. Quantification of fish trap (various designs) loss rates, both in the distant past and more recently, together with the main factors influencing the loss rate.
2. Quantification of how well “dumped” or unattended traps catch fish, together with the main factors affecting the performance (including the presence of trap disabling mechanisms).
3. Apply refinements* to fishing practices/gear to address loss rates and ghost fishing and assess performance (*utilising observations made in the first year of project).
4. Apply refinements to fishing activity reporting to assist with the management of effort creep, trap loss, and ascertaining appropriate harvest levels for the target species.
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