There have been many projects around the world that focused on establishing the scientific basis for an EAFM. A great deal of scientific knowledge has resulted, but practical EAFM is still not established in many locations. The integrated management approaches used in Australia are one of the first practical attempts at true EAFM (in fact moving beyond EAFM to broader ecosystem-based management, EBM). While EBM in Australia is evolving following an evidence-based approach it has relied heavily on a theoretical basis, supporting the development of world-leading modelling platforms. The greatest gap in the Australian approach has been a lack of long time series to explore the value of different data streams (both fisheries-based and fisheries-independent). The creation of IMOS is a positive step in this direction, but it will be a long time before it produces a time series of any significant length. Collaboration in the proposed MareFrame project would provide access to data sets stretching 50-100 years or more. Exploration of such extensive data sets, being able to selectively modify the quantity and quality of data, will allow for an investigation of Australian tools and modelling approaches. This will provide for new insights, identify strengths and weaknesses not evident from the shorter Australian time series and supply the means of designing Australian monitoring schemes that are most cost effective under the catch cost risk trade-off. For instance, it will detail the effect of model complexity and inherent level of detail on their performances in different roles (e.g. for tactical and strategic management); and provide a framework for the identification of ecosystem-based reference points that could be applied in Australia for evaluating the current status of marine ecosystems. Australian fisheries science would also benefit from the specialized optimisation routines that will be developed by the European fisheries assessment scientists based on the large data sets at their disposal.