There is a need to increase effective engagement between fishing and aquaculture stakeholders and climate science and scientists in an ongoing strategic way, and not ‘just’ for single-project outcomes.

Improved engagement will help increase understanding of the likely implications of a changing climate in relevant contexts, and lay foundations for a shared exploration of available options for reducing risk exposure. We have worked with stakeholders and the FRDC Extension Officer Network to design a strategy that will engage fishing and aquaculture stakeholders on existing knowledge regarding risks and opportunities associated with a changing climate, to enable resource managers and researchers to better understand the ways in which many sectors are already adapting autonomously and to identify the barriers to further adaptation, and to co-design solutions that are relevant at local- and industry-levels to help build climate-ready communities and to stimulate economic resilience.

In many cases (but not all), extensive information regarding marine climate change - including key risks to fisheries and aquaculture producers (at a high level) - is already available, along with information on how to develop adaptation plans. However, despite this, progress and uptake within most sectors in terms of planned adaptation responses has been very slow – although many individual operators are already making ‘autonomous’ changes to their day-to-day operations in response to climate change drivers. If these changes are being made without access to best available knowledge, then it is very likely that substantial portions of these responses are maladaptive in the longer term, or may be countervailing to planned government adaptations (see Pecl et al 2019, Ambio, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13280-019-01186-x). This is a pattern evident within many different industries around Australia and across the rest of the world. ‘What’ needs to happen has thus been outlined in general terms in many cases, but such information is not co-developed or provided in consultation with end-users in ways that resonate or are useful to them. This project will address this need for relevance and usefulness.

The project aims to develop reflexive, ongoing, and two-way knowledge exchange between industry representatives, operators and manager, and the marine climate change impacts and adaptation research sector, so that solutions are co-designed, usable, and adoptable.

Recognising that harvest strategies are not particularly effective in meeting the needs of the recreational fishing sector, there is a need to identify the correct vehicle(s) for appropriately considering the objectives of the sector in management frameworks. This will require intensive engagement with stakeholders through national and State peak bodies and fishery managers to establish a shared understanding of the limitations of current fisheries management frameworks and promote innovation in formulating alternative systems.

The need to develop a systems model for the recreational sector has been identified as critical to ensuring fisheries management frameworks effectively recognise recreational fishing considerations. The model would provide a framework for fisheries managers and recreational sector stakeholders to collaborate in designing and implementing the intensive consultation and technical processes necessary to ensure recreational fishing drivers are understood and information, data baselines and monitoring needs are agreed. Addressing this critical gap will enable the development of fishery management tools which are better able to achieve fishery management goals and are supported by all stakeholders.

This project will undertake intensive engagement with the recreational fishing sector and fisheries managers to build a consolidated understanding of the recreational sector and the values, goals and motivators of model identified segments within the fishery which will provide important inputs in fisheries management frameworks. It will examine the pre-conditions for recreational sector objective setting and design a systematic process to ensure objectives are rigorously formulated and effectively integrated into fisheries management plans and harvest strategies, with consideration of the needs of all resource users.

The key output will be a systems model which defines objective setting processes and outputs prior to the commencement of management planning processes. This will establish clear guideposts and criteria, from which managers and stakeholders can confidently progress to management plan and harvest strategy development in a responsible manner.