2005 Australian Society for Fish Biology Workshop & 2005 International Barramundi Workshop
Taking stock: defining and managing shared resources - a joint ASFB-FARMAA workshop
Unlike rules in the worlds in which fish live, those in the world of fishery resource management are shaped by government jurisdiction and maritime boundaries, and influenced by political whim. Human conflicts often arise when fish cross ‘invisible’ lines. Our understanding of resource dynamics and management needs, and our ability to perceive and resolve conflict, may become clouded by fish-related activities in distant parts of a fish stock. What are fish stocks? Can stocks be contained within meaningful boundaries? And what are the implications of assessing resources and implementing management strategies if stocks are shared by many users, or if stock boundaries are not clearly known? Quantifying fish stocks, fishery resources and related activities is central to formulating strategies for ecologically sustainable development and management. Taking Stock: Defining and Managing Shared Resources is a pivotal issue for many Australian fishery scientists and managers.
There are numerous examples of fisheries where management strategies are compromised by poorly understood and poorly quantified fish-related activities within the ecological range of the stocks. Conflicts may arise at three scales: macro scale between nations, meso scale between states or provinces, and micro scale between stakeholders within a jurisdiction. Examples where conflicts may arise include recreational fishing, taking of by-catch, traditional fishing, fishing on grounds adjacent to Australian waters, and habitat modifications. Each of these activities can, under certain circumstances, have detrimental effects on the well-being and sustainability of fish stocks.
The ASFB-FARMAA workshop will bring together fishery scientists, managers and stakeholders to discuss methods for defining and managing stocks shared at macro, meso and micro scales. Discussions at all three scales will ensure that the workshop has wide appeal and relevance to participants. This workshop will advance our understanding of key issues, and provide benchmark information for future directions in fisheries research and management.
Final report
People Development Program: Visiting Expert – Paul Lumley
The ASFB, through our annual conference and network of members has a forum for exchange of information. For our 2015 conference we are proposing to support the attendance of Paul Lumley the Executive Director of the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (CRITFC) as a keynote speaker and organise some targeted workshops prior to the conference in Darwin (lead by NT Fisheries, Bo Carne and Charles Darwin University, Alison King) and Mildura (lead by Murray-Darling Freshwater Research Centre, Lee Baumgartner & Deb Bogenhuber).
Mr Lumley has been selected as our preferred keynote based on his extensive history working with Northwest US tribes on salmon issues, particularly in the Columbia River Basin. He previously spent 17 years with CRITFC working on biological issues associated with power stations, and has also assisted in fund raising and establishing a grant program for the four Columbia River treaty tribes. Mr Lumley has indicated availability and a preliminary commitment to attend and undertake proposed workshops and present Keynote.
ASFB has a commitment to increase engagement between ASFB members and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, within the scope of the society. We recognise that to support this involves improving opportunities for Indigenous people to engage in research, fisheries management and compliance and other commercial activities. There is a great deal of interest in the ability to develop and start new commercial initiatives that maintain ongoing Indigenous interests and concerns in the fisheries management and industry and environmental rehabilitation. Australian Indigenous experience in commercial fisheries has gained momentum, and many of our members have expressed an interest in learning from International First Nations and Indigenous peoples experience.
We have in principal support for this activity through Indigenous agencies and advisory groups, including the Fisheries Research and Development Corporations Indigenous Reference Group, Northern Territory Department of Primary Industry and Fisheries, the New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council, the Murray Lower Darling Indigenous Nations.