64 results
Communities
PROJECT NUMBER • 2014-226
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Indigenous Fishing Subprogram: Improving the recognition and integration of traditional owner customary fishing and ecological knowledge in the management of Victoria’s fisheries

With growing recognition of Traditional Owner groups across Victoria as native title claims are being resolved. There is a strong interest from within Victorian Traditional Owner community to actively participate in the management of Victoria’s fisheries. However, despite these strongly held...
ORGANISATION:
Agriculture Victoria

Movement and re-aggregation of blacklip abalone in response to intensive fishing

Project number: 1995-165
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $116,068.00
Principal Investigator: Harry Gorfine
Organisation: Agriculture Victoria
Project start/end date: 28 Jun 1996 - 29 Sep 1998
Contact:
FRDC

Objectives

1. To determine the extent of migration and re-aggregation of a blacklip abalone population in response to fishing
2. To describe differences between pre and post-fishing spatial distribution patterns in blacklip abalone population
3. To determine the growth rates of a "stunted" abalone sub-stock

Final report

ISBN: 0 7311 4207 1
Author: H.K. Gorfine R.A. Officer C.D. Dixon
Final Report • 1998-09-10 • 2.09 MB
1995-165-DLD.pdf

Summary

Typically abalone are found clustered into aggregations of many individuals along gutters and ledges that dissect the surfaces of the reefs they inhabit. Commercial abalone divers take advantage of this clustering behaviour and specifically target aggregations to minimise the time spent searching for abalone and maximise their catch rates. This approach to abalone harvesting would be expected to progressively reduce the number and size of the aggregations to produce a less clustered pattern of distribution. Most methods used to detect changes in abalone abundance that result from fishing assume that abalone movement will have minimal effect on post-fishing patterns of distribution.

Abalone are generally viewed as relatively inactive organisms that occupy specific homesites from which they seldom move. Evidence for this lack of movement includes the oval shaped 'scars' of bare rock, free of algae and other immobile invertebrates, that remain after abalone are harvested. However there are many anecdotes describing the tendency for abalone to reform aggregations after fishing and during spawning periods. Presumably the latter promotes fertilisation success by increasing the quantities of sperm and eggs that mix in the water. It is unclear why abalone may aggregate into clusters outside spawning periods. If re-aggregation does occur after fishing, it is also unclear where these 'replacement' abalone come from. There is some speculation that small abalone may emerge from crevices and cryptic habitat. Other hypotheses include small-scale movements within aggregations or migration from unfished areas. An understanding of how re-aggregation occurs after fishing and to what extent it occurs, is essential to determine its effect on estimates of abalone abundance and to estimate important population characteristics such as rates of natural mortality.

Keywords: Haliotis rubra, abalone, dispersal, movement, aggregation, natural mortality, tag-loss, tag-recapture, stunted, growth.

Environment

People development program: FRDC Indigenous development scholarship - Angela Jeffery

Project number: 2008-326.38
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $10,000.00
Organisation: Agriculture Victoria
Project start/end date: 25 Mar 2013 - 30 Jul 2014
Contact:
FRDC

Objectives

1. Develop a better understanding (self and community) of Aboriginal fishing practices - past and new - through development of educational materials

Final report

Author: Angela Jeffery
Final Report • 2015-06-01 • 151.99 KB
2008-326.38-DLD.pdf

Summary

The aim of this project was to develop a better understanding of Aboriginal fishing practices (past and present) through the development of educational materials.

This was to be undertaken as on-the-job training while working at Fisheries Victoria’s Marine and Freshwater Discovery Centre (MFDC) and, as a result of this scholarship, by researching indigenous fishing methods at the National Museum of Australia.

Project products

Poster • 2015-06-01 • 6.96 MB
2008-326.38 - Wadawurrung Traditional Fishing Methods.pdf

Summary

Traditional fishing methods of the Wadawurrung, the traditional owners of the country on which the MFDC stands
Environment
Environment
PROJECT NUMBER • 1993-100
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Evaluation of methods to assess abalone abundance

The issue of how best to survey abalone populations to obtain estimates of abundance has been the subject of debate among fisheries biologists for many years. In an attempt to resolve this issue we compared and evaluated abalone abundance estimated by the following methods: Transect survey,...
ORGANISATION:
Agriculture Victoria

Effects of Trawling Subprogram: promoting industry uptake of gear modifications to reduce bycatch in the South East and Great Australian Bight trawl fisheries

Project number: 2001-006
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $358,000.00
Principal Investigator: Terence I. Walker
Organisation: Agriculture Victoria
Project start/end date: 30 Dec 2001 - 1 Jul 2007
Contact:
FRDC

Need

Time and again, good research results have been wasted because there has been poor industry support, lack of industry consultation and a low level of effective extension of the results to grass-roots industry. Through Project 98/204, we have developed outstanding bycatch reduction results in the SETF with full industry support, high levels of consultation and an extensive extension process. Whilst all of the newsletters and videos have achieved a high level of Industry awareness of the bycatch reduction project, it is now time to promote and encourage industry uptake of the modfied codend designs. This will require hands-on work with the fishers on a one-on-one basis and further analysis of fish behaviour to reduce discards in trawl gear to a greater extent. This proposal seeks funds to support this phase of the project and continue the outstanding success of 98/204 in reducing the bycatch in SEF trawlers.

As evidence of the effective extension of the results of the current FRDC project 98/204, operators within the Great Australian Bight trawl fishery have shown keen interest in deploying modified gear to reduce bycatch in their fishery. As such, they have expressed their enthusiasm in participating in a project of this nature and wish to be included as participants within this proposal.The project budget and methods have been revised to reflect this.

Objectives

1. Through application in normal fishing practices, Industry will improve the initial gear modifications (from project 98/204) to retain commercial species and reduce bycatch and discarding.
2. Voluntary uptake of modified gear by a large percentage of commercial fishers in the South East Trawl Fishery
3. Allow fishers to observe fish behaviour, trial, modify and improve the gear over a twelve month period assisted by underwater video equipment.
4. Review alterations that fishers have made and scientifically test the performance of the modified gear and review changes to fish behaviour within the gear.

Final report

ISBN: 978‐1‐74264‐249‐9
Author: Terence Walker
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