The fisheries biology of scampi (Metanephrops spp)
Final report
Scampi, or species of clawed lobsters of the genus Metanephrops, occur on the continental slopes of many countries in the world, however, prior to 1985 were commercially fished only in deep water off south east Africa, Metanephrops andamanicus and experimentally in the western Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea, Metanephrops binghami.
The presence of scampi on the north west slope of Australia was first reported by the survey steamer Investigator in 1891, but it was not until 1985 that a commercial fishery based on three species of scampi (Metanephrops andamanicus, M. australiensis and M. boschmai) was developed.
Thee scant scientific knowledge of these species used to establish initial management plans for the fishery prompted the initiation of a CSIRO research program. This three year research program, which commenced in January 1986, aimed to collect fundamental information on the fisheries biology of these animals in order that a rational long term management strategy for the fishery could be designed.
Fisheries biology of deep-water crustacea and fin fish on the continental slope of Western Australia
Final report
This project sought to investigate the population biology of the commercially important species, primarily crustaceans and finfish, caught in the North West Slope Trawl Fishery (NWSTF) and Western Deep Water Trawl Fishery (WDWTF).
This work aimed to measure standing stocks, growth rates, natural mortality rates, and reproductive periodicity, to enable estimation of potential yields from the fishery.
The logbook program and database, for the collection, storage and retrieval of information on catches by commercial vessels, was completed as planned.
Population dynamics workshop on banana prawns and scallops
Final report
Evaluation of harvesting strategies for Australian fisheries at different levels of risk from economic collapse
Final report
Management of a marine renewable resource involves selecting a trade-off between conflicting objectives related to conservation and utilization. This problem is complicated by uncertainty about the current status and productivity of the resource being managed, and hence about the implications of alternative management measures. A general quantitative framework for evaluating these trade-offs in the face of uncertainty is developed. This framework allows for uncertainty about the current state of the resource and the observational error associated with future data. It can assess the performances of a variety of harvest strategies based on setting total allowable catches (TACs). These include constant catch, fixed escapement and constant fishing effort strategies. It is possible to constrain the changes in TAC from one year to the next. This framework is illustrated using the eastern stock of gemfish.
It is necessary to quantify the status of the resource to apply this framework. In this project, the historical trends in, current status of, and productivity of the eastern gemfish population is evaluated using two age-structured assessment approaches tailored to the specifics of the gemfish resource. These methods take account of the two-fishery nature of the resource, explicitly consider sex-structure, and use the catches, the catch rates in the winter fishery, the length frequency data and the age-length keys. This resource is estimated to have declined markedly during the 1980s as a consequence of unsustainable catches and a long series of weak year-classes. However, the assessments cannot distinguish among alternatives for the relationship between spawning stock size and future recruitment. The two assessments arrive at different conclusions regarding the size of the resource relative to AFMAs harvesting target of 40% of virgin level.
Interim monitoring of the 1995 eastern gemfish spawning run
Research on technology of processing rock lobster in relation to drowning before tailing
Final report
Northern shark tagging study
Final report
In 1982, CSIRO applied to the Fishing Industry Research Trust Account for funding of a joint biological investigation of northern Australian pelagic fish stocks. At that time these stocks supported a Taiwanese surface gill-net fishery based on sharks, tunas and Spanish mackerel.
During the 1970's the total annual catch taken by the Taiwanese fishery from the area between northern Australia and Papua New Guinea averaged about 25,000 tonnes live weight. With declaration of the Australian Fishing Zone (AFZ) in 1979 the fishery came under Australian jurisdiction and management measures were introduced.
This study was initiated because of mounting government concern over the lack of research into the fishery, and because of increasing interest by industry in Australian exploitation of the resource. The program was a joint undertaking between CSIRO, the Commonwealth Department of Primary Industry and the State Fisheries of Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory. The program aimed to provide information on the stock structure, migration, age and growth, recruitment and mortality of the principal species, and to examine the yield potential of the stocks and the potential for increased Australian participation in the fishery. It was particularly important to know whether the target species comprised single stocks or a number of discrete stocks across northern Australia. This information has implications for management of the foreign and domestic fisheries.
Application of satellite real-time sea surface temperature data to the tuna, salmon and pilchard fisheries
Final report
This is the final report for FIRTA project 1981-056. The principal objective has been to study the application of real-time satellite-derived sea surface temperature measurements in assisting particular fisheries located in southern waters of Australia. Initially proposed for a three year period from 1981 to 1984, the project was granted an extension into a fourth year. It has been jointly conducted by the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering of the Western Australian Institute of Technology, and the Remote Sensing Section of the CSIRO Division of Groundwater Research.
This project was the first use of satellite near real-time imagery in the Australian fishing industry, and only became possible with the construction of a NOAA receiving station at WAIT. Overseas experience suggested satellite imagery could be of benefit to Australia, and in broad terms, the project set out to prove this. Three major steps were required in reaching that objective. First, to gather and process satellite data. Second, to obtain catch and related data from the fishermen concerned. Third, and most importantly, to compare the two and identify the correlations which would form the mechanisms for any long term operational service to the fishing industry.