Port Phillip Bay is an important and complex fishery that is utilised by both commercial and recreational sectors. Snapper and King George Whiting are key species taken by both the commercial and recreational sectors within the Bay, but there are many other shared stocks as well. As a result, there has been conflict between these fishers in Port Phillip Bay for a number of decades, but this has recently culminated in campaigns to ban all commercial net fishing in the region. Although loosely based on claims about the environmental impact of commercial fishing, there are also complex social drivers that underpin these campaigns.

Simply understanding the catch of these species by the two sectors does not portray the potential issues that need to be addressed for shared access to the fishery. Fisheries management has transitioned from a species-based to an ecosystem-based framework that requires the implementation of ecological risk assessments (ERAs) to fully understand the impact of the fishing activities on the target species as well as the broader environment. To date there has been no ERA of commercial and recreational fishing in the Bay, but the results of an ERA alone do not address the important social issues underpinning the conflict. Overall, there is a need to provide scientifically defensible information on all these issues, if fisheries management of Port Philip Bay is going to encompass shared access to its resources by the commercial and recreational sectors and other stakeholders.

There are inherent challenges in managing small scale multi-species, multi method fisheries, particularly in a community based fishery context, which require careful consideration in the development of appropriate harvest strategies. While there is a significant degree of targeting involved in multi-species fisheries, the majority of target species will not always be caught during individual gear sets, and the species composition of the catch may be spatially or temporally specific. It can be difficult to ensure that all species caught are fished sustainably (and not only the target species) because species have various life-history characteristics and productivities, and different degrees of susceptibility to the gear. Many species are caught by a variety of gears and it is often difficult to account for all sources of mortality in assessments and the different life stages targeted by particular gear types. The development of harvest strategies for data-poor fisheries presents additional challenges in attempting to reconcile available information and capacity with formal, defensible strategies that achieve the desired objectives for the fishery and fisheries legislation. There is a need for harvest strategies, particularly for community-based fisheries, to be easily understood and accepted by key stakeholders, pragmatic and cost effective.

The LCF is a small scale multi-species, multi-method community based fishery located at the end of the Murray-Darling system and is subject to varying environmental conditions (drought and flooding). The primary target species include Pipi, Yellow-eye Mullet, Golden Perch, Mulloway, Greenback Flounder and Black Bream. A number of other marine, estuarine and freshwater species (native and exotic) are also taken. The fishery contributes to the socio-economic well-being of regional coastal communities in the Lakes and Coorong region through commercial and recreational activity and harbors significant cultural and spiritual significance for the Ngarrindjeri people.