12 results
Environment
PROJECT NUMBER • 1998-131
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Stock structure and regional variation in population dynamics of the red throat emperor and other target species of the Queensland Tropical Reef Line Fishery

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (GBRMP) is the largest and, arguably, most pristine marine park in the world. Commercial, charter and recreational fishing have occurred on the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) for many decades. Since the late 1980’s, there has been growing concern about the...
ORGANISATION:
James Cook University (JCU)

Assessment of novel gear designs to reduce interactions between species of conservation interest and commercial fishing nets

Project number: 2011-009
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $142,499.66
Principal Investigator: David Welch
Organisation: James Cook University (JCU)
Project start/end date: 4 Sep 2011 - 3 Sep 2013
Contact:
FRDC

Need

The inshore gillnet fishery of Queensland operates in nearshore shallow, turbid waters of our coastline also shared with species of conservation interest (SOCI; eg. dugong, turtle, dolphin and large sharks. Interactions between nets and SOCI are inevitable and in the interest of conservation, safety and fishing efficiency there is a need to minimise these interactions.

Current construction of gillnets mean that very large animals often become entangled in the nets and are unable to break free. Where the animal breaks free or is cut free by the fisher, significant damage is caused to the fishing gear reducing fishery efficiency, productivity and profitability. More importantly, these interactions pose an unnecessary risk to the fisher and the vessel, often resulting in injury or mortality to the animal.

There is significant concern for the conservation of SOCI in northern Australia, particularly in the GBRMP; a World Heritage Area. Fishing, particularly the use of gillnets, is regarded as a major threat to SOCI. Assessing strategies for net fisheries that may minimise these interactions is seen as high priorities for research by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, Queensland Fisheries and conservation groups such as the World Wildlife Fund. This project addresses these high priorities and also addresses one of the high priority research areas specified for inshore fisheries by the Queensland Fisheries Research Advisory Board for 2010. Effective mitigation using modified gear will minimise the need for urgent government intervention as seen in the Boyne River recently (http://www.cabinet.qld.gov.au/MMS/StatementDisplaySingle.aspx?id=74570).

In Australia, the dugong is protected under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 as a listed 'migratory species' and a listed 'marine species' and ‘vulnerable’ under Queensland’s Nature Conservation (Wildlife) Regulation 2006. The dugong is also listed as a 'protected species' under the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Regulations 1983.

Objectives

1. Identify alternate net designs and fisheries to which they may apply through an expert panel/workshop.
2. Assess the effectiveness of alternate net designs to minimise interactions with Species of Conservation Interest.
3. Determine the impact of alternate net designs on "normal" fishery operation metrics for the Queensland east coast (eg. target species catch rates, net maintenance)
4. Develop an extension program to promote the project outcomes and ensure the uptake of project results through the increased use of alternate net designs.

Final report

ISBN: 978-0-9808178-3-6
Author: David Welch
Environment
PROJECT NUMBER • 1992-118
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Chemical tagging of shells of commercial stock of hatchery clams

Commercial clam hatcheries require a method of labeling or "tagging" clams so that they can be identified as hatchery reared. This is a requirement of the Queensland Department of Primary Industry, aimed at the prevention of the sale of clams collected illegally from the Great Barrier Reef Marine...
ORGANISATION:
James Cook University (JCU)

FRDC-DCCEE: management implications of climate change impacts on fisheries resources of northern Australia

Project number: 2010-565
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $400,000.00
Organisation: James Cook University (JCU)
Project start/end date: 29 Mar 2011 - 13 Mar 2014
Contact:
FRDC

Need

Climate change is a major environmental threat and there is a national imperative to establish likely impacts on fisheries in Australia. Northern Australia is predicted to be affected by changes in rainfall patterns and resultant increases in river flows to the marine environment, increased intensity of cyclones, increased water temperatures, increases in ocean acidification, and altered current patterns (CSIRO 2007). These changes in the marine environment will directly impact on fisheries including modified phenology and physiology, altered ranges and distributions, composition and interactions within communities, and fisheries catch rates (Hobday et al 2008, Munday et al 2008, Halliday et al, 2008, Balston 2009). Critically, most fisheries in northern Australia are deemed to be not well prepared at all for future climate impacts (Hobday et al 2008). For fishery sectors in northern Australia to be able to respond positively and adapt to climate-induced changes on fish stocks there is a need to determine which stocks, and where, when and how they are likely to be affected. Current fisheries management in northern Australia is jurisdiction-based. There is a need for a co-operative approach to developing management policy that can deal with future climate change scenarios. Development of such policy requires consultation with all stakeholder groups. This addresses one of the NCCARP high priority research needs for commercial and recreational fishing, two of FRDC's Strategic Priority R&D Areas (Themes 3 & 4), and priorities for Qld and NT management agencies.

There exists extensive northern Australia biophysical and fisheries data for regional assessment of likely climate change impacts. Data include temperature, salinity, pH, wind, rainfall, upwelling events and river flows. There is a critical need for the collation of existing data sets to determine and document the key environmental drivers for northern Australian fisheries; a key research priority for national, Qld and NT agencies.

Objectives

1. Describe the projected climate-driven changes that are relevant to northern Australian marine fisheries.
2. Assess the potential impacts of climate change on key fisheries and species in northern Australia.
3. Assess current management to identify approaches that are adaptive to potential climate change scenarios
Final Report • 2014-03-01 • 25.64 MB
2010-565-DLD Part 2.pdf

Summary

The species profiles herein are a selection of 23 of the some of the most important fishery species of northern Australia. Although there are many others that could have been included, the species were selected to be representative of the regions, fishery sectors and taxa, while also being identified as high priority species during consultations with stakeholders. As a companion report to Part 1: Vulnerability assessment and adaptation options, the information compiled here for each species provided the necessary baseline information for this project: (i) carry out further species sensitivity data analyses, (ii) conduct the species-based vulnerability assessments, and (iii) identify appropriate adaptation options and barriers. Each species profile covered the following aspects: fisheries, biology, ecology and life cycle, and environmental sensitivity and resilience in a climate change context. This content followed the template set by the similar project conducted in south-eastern Australia (Pecl et al. 2011) thereby ensuring consistency across projects.

Each profile involved comprehensive literature reviews so as to provide the most up-to-date, and therefore relevant, information to inform the major tasks of the project. Firstly, identifying the known sensitivity of each species to key environmental (climate) variables helped us to set up hypotheses for testing for the data analyses conducted for some species, determined the information gaps, and informed the development and scoring for the vulnerability assessments. Documenting the biology, ecology and life history also informed the development of the hypotheses as well as the vulnerability assessments. Information about the fisheries, including their management and operational characteristics, was important also in informing the vulnerability assessments, and particularly in identifying adaptation options for fisheries.

Environment
PROJECT NUMBER • 2008-103
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Tactical Research Fund: Adapting to change - minimising uncertainty about the effects of rapidly-changing environmental conditions on the Queensland Coral Reef Fin Fish Fishery

With the severity and intensity of tropical cyclones predicted to increase with global climate change (Webster et al. 2005), the need to understand the effects of these events on fisheries production is paramount. The northern tropical margin of the Australian continent is subject to tropical...
ORGANISATION:
James Cook University (JCU)
Industry
PROJECT NUMBER • 2016-142
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Genetic diversity audit of farm held stocks of Greenlip and Blacklip abalone

Following the AVG virus, the number of broodstock that were available to produce hybrids was drastically reduced. This project was undertaken in order to ascertain the genetic diversity present within farm held broodstock of greenlip and blacklip abalone and to determine the degree of genetic...
ORGANISATION:
James Cook University (JCU)
Environment
PROJECT NUMBER • 1994-087
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Application of ELISA/PCR tests developed in Japan to the detection of a barramundi Picorna-like virus in Australia

The history of BPLV in Australia is one in which mass mortalities have occurred repeatedly among cultured larvae almost completely without warning. There is no published data on where the virus comes from (i.e. its source or origin), or, in the case of stock being transferred interstate, the...
ORGANISATION:
James Cook University (JCU)
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