Tropical fish traps – addressing ghost fishing impacts and refinements to catch reporting/sampling
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.
Improving survival and quality of crabs and lobsters in transportation from first point of sale to market.
National Workshop to develop a regional collaborative plan to control the invasive Longspined Sea Urchin (Centrostephanus rodgersii)
Identifying population connectivity of shark bycatch species in NT waters
This project is needed for three main reasons:
1. It directly addresses a NT RAC priority in the 2019 call for funding applications relating to improving sustainable yield estimates to inform stock assessment programs for undefined target species and protected species in the Offshore Net and Line Fishery. The project will support sustainable fishing practices for important commercial fisheries in the NT and the development of new commercial opportunities within these fisheries: The impacts of fishery activities on these species, either through bycatch or targeted harvest, are difficult to assess in the absence of information on population connectivity and stock structure.
2. The project will develop capacity for fisheries research and monitoring in NT waters. Genetics methods are widely applied to fisheries research and monitoring and training of an early career fisheries scientist in the application and interpretation of genetic data will be a key outcome of this project.
3. The project will provide key information to support the transition of these species from bycatch to a harvested byproduct species, including an evaluation of leading-edge genetic techniques in fisheries assessment and monitoring.