Tactical Research Fund: Incorporation of predictive models of banana prawn catch for MEY-based harvest strategy development for the Northern Prawn Fishery
Under Commonwealth harvest policy, fisheries are to be managed to maximise economic performance. Most Commonwealth fisheries have/ are developing harvest strategies based on an MEY target and TAC controls. Following Ministerial Direction, the NPF is to adopt an ITQ management system from mid-2012. This transition requires: 1.reliable methods for predicting the total sustainable, available catch; and, 2, understanding of the economics of the fishery, providing for setting total allowable catches (TACs) that maximise value rather than catch. This project addresses these components. Unlike the NPF tiger prawn fishery, the fishery for common banana prawns (CBP), in which annual catches vary dramatically, has not been amenable to assessment and predictive modelling, as recruitment varies markedly with environmental conditions.
Fishermen have known for many years that banana prawns catches depend upon rainfall. Considerable research has explored the ecology behind this e.g. relationships between rainfall and catches of CBP, (Vance et al. 1985), emigration of CBP from estuaries as salinity decreases (Staples 1980, Staples and Vance 1986, Vance et al. 1998), temperature and wind (Vance et al. (2003)) and the effect of fishing effort (Venables and Poloczanska 2006). Venables et al. (2011) explored the feasibility of predicting the fishery-wide potential annual catch for CBP. In a manner suitable for TAC-development, it uses information available before the fishery begins each year. The second component follows the successful incorporation of economic objectives into the harvest strategy for tiger and endeavour prawns (Dichmont et al. 2008) and would redress the lack of suitable techniques for TAC-setting for CBP, as noted in FRDC 2007-018 (Dichmont et al. 2010). The process is relatively simplified in this case, as there is no large interdependence in the fishery and economic modelling entailed.
Final report
Implications of current spatial management measures on AFMA ERAs for habitats
Mapping the distribution and movement of gulper sharks, and developing a non-extractive monitoring technique, to mitigate the risk to the species within a multi-sector fishery region off southern and eastern Australia
Spatial interactions among juvenile southern bluefin tuna at the global scale: a large scale archival tag experiment
Tactical research fund: Industry based size-monitoring and data collection program for albacore tuna in the ETBF
Dramatic increases in the catch of albacore occurred in the ETBF in 2006 as several domestic longliners switched from targeting broadbill swordfish to albacore tuna landing the catch in Mooloolaba. These high catches were maintained in 2007, and given that localised depletion of albacore has been observed in several Pacific island nations, it raised concerns about the long-term sustainability of the fishery and highlighted the pressing need to implement a Harvest Strategy. Industry have stated that albacore is now an important component of the economic viability of the fleet.
To determine target reference levels for albacore consistent with the Commonwealth Harvest Strategy Policy, data are required on the size composition of the catch, size/age-at-maturity, growth rates, fecundity and mortality (Campbell et al., 2007). A feasibility study (AFMA 2006-826) specifically identified “the need to revise the size monitoring protocols for albacore, and potentially other target species, to ensure that this important input data stream for the ETBF harvest strategy is providing a consistent and unbiased sample of the size structure of the commercial catch over time”. In addition, the study identified the need to collect substantially more biological samples and undertake research on direct ageing and reproduction to address key biological uncertainties for albacore in the region. In August 2007, the WCPFC Scientific Committee re-iterated the priority for biological information on albacore and noted that this work has "strong assessment implications with wide-spread benefits to a number of fisheries active in the WCPO".
Acknowledging this, the ETMAC identified the collection and analysis of data (including size, sex composition and biological data) for the ETBF as its highest priority. In addition, the ETMAC explicitly identified the determination of life-history parameters and improved stock assessments for albacore tuna as a High Priority project. This proposal addresses both these high priority research areas.