The issue of whether or not there is bias in the current SBT monitoring process remains unresolved as highlighted by the findings of the recent O’Neill review commissioned by AFMA and the recent CCSBT farm review. In addition there is a need to re-evaluate the stereo video sampling method developed in previous SV projects to determine if it is cost effective, and an operationally feasible method which also meets required levels of accuracy and precision in an operational environment. The tests of accuracy and precision must be met in terms of aggregate catch within Australia’s national allocation under CCSBT, as well as AFMA’s domestic management obligations to measure SBT catch against individual SFR holdings.

Assessing the operational feasibility of the stereo video technology remains a very important domestic and international SBT management priority. There is a need to conduct appropriate trials to determine statistically acceptable levels of SBT sampling. The project must also determine accuracy of length measurements and apply this to individual and total aggregate catches.

There is a need to evaluate the use of stereo video technology under the range of conditions comparable to actual farm transfer conditions, particularly with regard to varying light and water visibility conditions and with a range of fish sizes. It will also provide important insight into practical implementations issue such as the time and technical expertise needed to set up and calibrate stereo video equipment, and the physical robustness of the equipment under operational conditions.

Australian fisheries are based on a variety of private uses of resources that are communally owned. The separation of management and use from ownership means that there is a role for regular reporting of the performance of those fisheries. In this context, the use of appropriate indicators to report on how a fishery has performed is an essential part of ensuring the accountability of management. An important component of the management model that has been implemented for Commonwealth fisheries is the public accountability of AFMA.

The reporting of progress against AFMA’s economic efficiency objective has been poor. Information presented in the AFMA annual report has generally been limited to a discussion of changes in the gross value of production in Commonwealth fisheries — this provides little, if any, indication of changes in economic efficiency. The only other regularly published information relevant to the economic performance of Commonwealth fisheries is contained in the Australian Fisheries Survey Report, published annually by ABARE. For selected Commonwealth fisheries, these surveys provide information about the financial performance of the fishing fleet and estimates of the net economic returns from management. While net return estimates are a useful starting point for examining economic efficiency in a fishery, they do not account for the impact of exogenous factors such as changes in input and output prices, movements in exchange rates and variations in environmental factors.

There is a need for the development of suite of robust indicators of economic efficiency movements that can be effectively applied across Commonwealth fisheries. Once developed these indicators will provide a basis for reporting progress against the economic efficiency objective and, perhaps more importantly, provide fisheries managers with information to guide the development of economically efficient management policies. Management regimes, through controlling the total level of harvests (by whatever means) and contributing to the incentive structure that fishers operate within will determine whether a fishery is economically efficient.

This research is consistent with the Key Research Area 1.1 (b) identified in the AFMA Strategic Research Plan 1999-2004. It is also consistent with the Resources Sustainability: Status of fish stocks, environment and industry program of the Fisheries Resources Research Fund.

The proposal addresses a number of specific needs, as expressed in the FRDC research and development plan:

- Effects of fishing activities on fish and their ecosystems (Program 1, Strategy 3) - information on the spatial distribution and intensity of catch of species and effort is fundamental to assessing the effects of fishing on the environment. It is also very useful in assessment of individual stocks.
- Access to fisheries resources (Program 1, Strategy 8) - the distribution and value of fishing, as well as the potential social and economic impacts, is a vital consideration in multiple use planning (eg. Marine Protected Area planning).
- Fisheries and ecosystems management (Program 1, Strategy 10) - the proposal would make a significant contribution to ecosystem based and multiple use planning under the Regional Marine Planning process.
- Economic and social values of the industry and its impacts (Program 2, Strategy 2) - the proposal specifically aims to investigate socio-economic aspects of fisheries and connect these to marine resources. This will also assist in fulfilling ESD requirements.
- Community education (Program 3, Strategy 4) - the two major outputs (paper and web) will be widely available and comprise a valuable information resource for all Australians.

A tight schedule has been set for the development of Regional Marine Plans across Australia. Planning will require detailed information on the nature and extent of marine fishing activities. Nowhere has this information been drawn together to provide a body of data for use in regional marine planning. To ensure that the interests of the fishing industry are appropriately represented in the planning process it is important that accurate information is presented in a form that will be useful.

Similarly, the socio-economic nature of coastal communities and their degree of dependence on marine fisheries resources is poorly understood. The proposed research will provide a basis for identifying the social impacts of proposed changes to fisheries management arrangement and developing strategies for appropriate government interventions to reduce adverse impacts.