11 results
Environment
Industry
PROJECT NUMBER • 2016-116
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Development of a 5-year sector and NT Strategic Research, Development and Extension (RD&E) Plan for Northern Territory fisheries and aquaculture based on priority needs of major stakeholder sectors

The Fisheries Research and Development Corporation’s (FRDC) Northern Territory Research Advisory Committee (NT RAC) recognised that a 5-year Research Development and Extension (RD&E) Plan was a major strategic need of the NT but acknowledged that there was limited capacity among sectors to...
ORGANISATION:
Fishwell Consulting Pty Ltd

Design of a fishery independent longline survey for chondrichthyans in Northern Australia

Project number: 2023-063
Project Status:
Current
Budget expenditure: $82,125.00
Principal Investigator: Ian Knuckey
Organisation: Fishwell Consulting Pty Ltd
Project start/end date: 4 Feb 2024 - 29 Aug 2024
Contact:
FRDC

Need

Catch Per Unit Effort (CPUE) from commercial logbooks is often used as an index of abundance in stock assessments. However, the use of commercial CPUE as an indicator of relative abundance can be problematic as the underlying assumption that commercial catch rates change linearly with abundance is often compromised. Although some factors that are reported in logbooks can be used to standardise CPUE, there are other sources of variation including:
• Modified fishing practices to target or avoid species to suit quota availability, meet market demands, or to comply with management arrangements.
• Differences in selectivity of fishing gear and use of bycatch-reduction devices.
• The combined impacts of multiple management restrictions on a fishery.
For example, gillnet operations in what was once the Northern Territory’s Shark Fishery now almost exclusively target Grey Mackerel. This change in practice has resulted in an index that is losing its relevance in assessing shark species.

Over 140 elasmobranchs are listed on CITES Appendix II, with the likely-hood that more species will be added in the future. Of the 11,082t of shark landed by the fishery since 2000, CITES listed Hammerheads comprise 17.25% of the shark catch. Other sharks caught by the fishery that were recently added to CITES Appendix II at the Nineteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties Panama City (Panama), 14 – 25 November 2022 include: Grey Reef Shark, Dusky Whaler, Sandbar Shark, Lemon Shark, Whitecheek shark and all other members of the family Carcharhinidae (which include the Blacktip Shark complex that is the main shark species caught by the fishery - 4688t or 42% since 2000). These species will require a positive Non-Detriment Finding (NDF) and CITES export permit in order to be exported following the 12-month delay in implementation (i.e., December 2023). The fishery also catches Threatened, Endangered and Protected Elasmobranchs, some of which are also CITES listed.

Gillnet and longline effort has decreased since 2000 and there is significant latent effort in the fishery. There is a desire to utilise this latent effort, however, the CITES listing of the majority of sharks species caught in the fishery will increase scrutiny from State, Commonwealth and International environmental agencies, as well as NGOs. This heightened scrutiny will provide greater impetus to demonstrate that shark stocks are at sustainable levels and that fishing is being undertaken sustainably.

There is a strong need for independent survey methods to gain a better understanding of the abundance patterns of shark species over time that can contribute to the development of appropriate management of these species that meets environmental, fisheries, and conservation needs.

Surveying Northern Australia using longlining methods would provide a fishery independent estimate of relative abundance for sharks that would improve economic security and public confidence in sustainability. However, to make an informed decision of the feasibility of a survey a full understanding of the scope of work and cost required is needed. There is a need to look at existing long line surveys undertaken worldwide (e.g. in the USA and Bahamas), to understanding the methods undertaken and the time period required to develop accurate abundance estimates.

Objectives

1. Analysis of commercial logbook data to inform fishery independent survey design
2. Conduct a literature review to determine potential design of longline fishery independent survey
3. Hold a workshop to discuss options for a NT shark longline survey
4. Develop final design and costs for a NT shark longline survey
People
PROJECT NUMBER • 2012-512
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Review of structural and funding options for a peak body for the Queensland seafood industry

Queensland’s commercial fisheries produce about $250 million of seafood annually, and contribute more than 10% of Australia’s seafood production in both quantity and value. The fishing industry is diverse in species targeted, methods used and areas fished. There are around 1,500...
ORGANISATION:
Fishwell Consulting Pty Ltd

The social drivers and implications of conducting an ecological risk assessment of both recreational and commercial fishing - a case study from Port Phillip Bay

Project number: 2014-207
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $184,765.00
Principal Investigator: Ian Knuckey
Organisation: Fishwell Consulting Pty Ltd
Project start/end date: 17 Jul 2014 - 29 Jun 2016
Contact:
FRDC

Need

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.

Objectives

1. Understand the full range of issues underpinning resource sharing by commercial, recreational and other stakeholders in Port Phillip Bay fisheries
2. Develop a framework for assessing the social and ecological issues in Port Phillip Bay fisheries
3. To undertake a qualitative ecological risk assessment of the Port Phillip Bay fishery, including both the commercial and recreational sectors
4. To identify the most significant ecological risks to the ecologically sustainable development of fisheries in Port Phillip Bay
5. Make recommendations for improved cross-sectoral management of Port Phillip Bay fishery resources

Final report

ISBN: 978-0-9954122-0-0
Authors: Knuckey I. Brooks K. Koopman M. and Jenkins G.
Final Report • 2017-11-17 • 5.38 MB
2014-207-DLD.pdf

Summary

This project assessed the social and ecological issues associated with fishing (commercial and recreational) in Port Phillip Bay, Victoria. Port Phillip Bay (including Corio Bay) is a large (1,950 km2), semi-enclosed, tidal marine embayment with a narrow entrance (Anon, 1973). Much of the Bay’s 264 km catchment is inhabited, incorporating Victoria’s two largest cities: Melbourne (population ~4.2 million) and Geelong (population ~225,000). Victoria’s major commercial shipping ports — Melbourne and Geelong — also operate in Port Phillip Bay, requiring dredged shipping channels. The Bay is one of Victoria's most popular tourist destinations for people simply wanting to enjoy the beach or undertake activities such as fishing, boating, yachting, swimming, snorkelling and SCUBA diving.
Adoption
Environment
PROJECT NUMBER • 2019-072
PROJECT STATUS:
CURRENT

Multiple - Before After Control Impact analysis of the effect of a 3D marine seismic survey on Danish Seine catch rates

The project is a four phase research program being conducted in the Danish seine commercial fishery off Lakes Entrance that looks to: 1. Examine effect of seismic testing on Danish seine catch rates of Tiger Flathead 2. Examine effect of seismic testing on Danish seine catch rates...
ORGANISATION:
Fishwell Consulting Pty Ltd
Industry
PROJECT NUMBER • 2016-146
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Understanding factors influencing undercaught TACs, declining catch rates and failure to recover for many quota species in the Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery

Concerns about the ecological and economic sustainability of Australia’s Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery (SESSF) prompted major structural readjustment of the fishery in 2006 that significantly reduced the number of operators in demersal trawl, Danish seine and gill net...
ORGANISATION:
Fishwell Consulting Pty Ltd
Industry
PROJECT NUMBER • 2015-204
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Realising economic returns of reducing waste through utilisation of bycatch in the GAB Trawl Sector of the SESSF

Fisheries bycatch reduction and utilisation is an important topic in the western world in both policy and research developments. At an international level, the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries directs management agencies and fisheries to reduce discards through development and...
ORGANISATION:
Fishwell Consulting Pty Ltd
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