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Developing techniques to estimate total allowable catches for the NPF major prawn species

Project number: 2007-018
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $793,323.80
Principal Investigator: Cathy M. Dichmont
Organisation: CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere Hobart
Project start/end date: 30 Mar 2007 - 30 Jun 2010
Contact:
FRDC

Need

Following the Ministerial Direction, the NPF is likely to adopt an ITQ management system with a time line of 2010. The transition to a quota system requires research on methods of estimating total allowable catches (TACs). The NPF is a multi-species fishery. However, stock assessment has only been done for two out of the eight commercial species. Controlling catch of only two species cannot secure the long-term sustainability of the whole NPF. Therefore, a whole-fishery approach must be adopted, and stock assessment needs to be extended to a greater number of species.

Estimating TACs for annual species like the NPF prawns is challenging because recruitment and subsequent catches are greatly influenced by environmental variables and fluctuate widely. In the NPF, biological parameters are not uniformly known for all prawn species, and the characteristics of population dynamics differ from species to species. A tier-approach should be applied here like the SESSF, i.e. a formal stock assessment will be done for species supported by sufficient data; for others more empirical methods may be adopted. It is well known that the move from input to output control causes major changes to the catch rate data and can cause a major break in the time series.

A key management objective in the NPF is the maximisation of economic profits. TACs will, therefore, have to reflect this economic objective. Although the theory of maximum economic yield (MEY) is well established, such a management target has not been implemented in any fishery. Achieving such a target requires both methodological development and analysis of a number of factors not previously considered when setting TACs in fisheries.

In summary, this proposal is designed to meet the strategic need and provide the science, tools and technical support for the successful transition of the NPF to a quota management system.

Objectives

1. Development of techniques for calculating and delivery of, TAC estimates for the two tiger prawn species and non-tiger prawn species that include both biological and economic information
2. Estimation of fishing power creep of the fishery
3. Assessessment of speces distribution for tiger and endeavour prawns to enable splitting group specific catch and effort data
4. Evaluation of economic efficiency under different TACs

Final report

ISBN: 978-1-921826-04-7
Author: Catherine Dichmont
Environment
PROJECT NUMBER • 2012-046
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Informing the review of the Commonwealth Policy on Fisheries Bycatch through assessing trends in bycatch of key Commonwealth fisheries

The purpose of this report is to inform the review of the Commonwealth Policy on Fisheries Bycatch. In March 2012, the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, announced the review of the Commonwealth Policy on Fisheries Bycatch, with the aim of improving the management of bycatch in...
ORGANISATION:
CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere Hobart
Industry
PROJECT NUMBER • 1995-080
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

DNA microsatellite variation in Atlantic salmon

The aquaculture of Atlantic salmon began in Australia in the mid-1960' s with an importation of ova from Canada to New South Wales. Anecdotal evidence suggested that the Australian population went through a severe bottleneck event during the early years due to poor survival and subsequent small...
ORGANISATION:
CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere Hobart
Environment
Adoption

People development program: 2012 FRDC Visiting Expert Bursaries - Professor Sigbjorn Lien

Project number: 2008-328.16
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $8,760.00
Principal Investigator: Sonja Dominik
Organisation: CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere Hobart
Project start/end date: 31 Aug 2012 - 28 Feb 2013
Contact:
FRDC

Need

Strong foundations have been developed by CSIRO Food Futures Flagship for breeding programs in Atlantic salmon, hybrid abalone, Pacific oysters and Black Tiger Prawns. The next step is to draw on some of the high density molecular marker (SNP) technology to overcome challenges to further increase genetic gains, in particular for the enhancement of difficult to measure or lowly heritable traits. For Atlantic salmon, the evaluation by CSIRO of using selection approaches based on SNP markers (genomic selection) for the improvement of AGD resistance is about to conclude, and in the other industries, the molecular technologies for enhanced management strategies, are being developed.

Already in these first stages of dealing with SNP marker data, the need for efficient data processes has been recognised due to the volume of data. The risk of data mismanagement is high.

The Centre of Integrative Genetics (CIGENE) in Norway has been a leader in the development of tools for data processing and analysis to assist the agriculture and aquaculture sectors.

CIGENE has implemented their data processing pipeline in Galaxy, a scientific workflow software. Galaxy enables scientists with little programming skills to handle data of large volume efficiently, extract subsets and analyse data. The specific application of Galaxy for the purpose of genetic improvement is rare and CIGENE has expert knowledge in this area.

This Bursary for Prof Sigbjorn Lien, will enable the direct transfer of knowledge and skills to leading Australian researchers, and the discussion of the future of the technology with key industry stakeholders.

Objectives

1. To support a three week research and training visit to Australia by Prof Sigbjorn Lien of CIGENE
2. To review and asses the needs in SNP data handling, processing and analysis in Atlantic salmon and black tiger prawn breeding programs
3. 3) To transfer knowledge to researchers on the development a bioinformatics pipeline in Galaxy for SNP data in Atlantic salmon and black tiger prawn
4. 4) To provide industry with an overview of the use of molecular technologies in aquaculture breeding programs in Europe
Environment
PROJECT NUMBER • 2004-024
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Variation in banana prawn catches at Weipa: a comprehensive regional study

Since about the year 2000 there have been very low catches in the Weipa Region of the Northern Prawn Fishery (NPF); these low catches were different to other areas of the NPF where they continued to fluctuate around long-term means and continued to fall within predicted levels. Industry and managers...
ORGANISATION:
CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere Hobart
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