A better understanding of the impacts of environmental drivers on the population dynamics and abundance of key fishery species can inform flexible management decisions that pre-empt both risks of overfishing under adverse environmental conditions and opportunities for increased harvest under favourable conditions. This is increasingly important as shifting environmental dynamics drive geographical shifts in fish stocks.

This project will identify environmental variables influencing the abundance of three priority fishery species, quantify those relationships to enhance their stock assessment models, and develop a forward projection tool to inform adaptive management of each fishery. Target species - Spanner Crabs, Snapper and Pearl Perch – were selected based on key interest to management of fisheries in Queensland and NSW. Some associations between these species and certain abiotic environmental factors are already known, but there is yet to be a rigorous and comprehensive approach to this work, with the explicit goal of incorporating abiotic influences into Queensland and NSW stock assessments.

The project has three key objectives: (1) Find indices of association between measures of abundance and key environmental drivers; (2) Use these indices to enhance the existing stock assessment model for each species; and (3) Enable forecasting of environmentally driven fluctuations in targeted species’ abundance, including enhancing Management Strategy Evaluations (MSEs).

In particular, environmental correlates will be valuable to fisheries managers by: (a) reducing the uncertainty in biomass estimates, (b) explaining fluctuations in abundance, and (c) characterising what is a “bad year” for each species. Such information can be incorporated into MSEs.

The “Queensland Sustainable Fisheries Strategy 2017-2027” identifies several challenges to fulfilling its mission of ensuring the sustainability of fisheries and the economic viability of fishing sectors. The first of these is “gaps in monitoring and research, which limit the ability to make timely, evidence-based decisions”. This project will close some of these gaps and assist in formulating measures for promoting stock recovery and adaptive management.

The Eyre Peninsula seafood industry formed Brand Eyre Peninsula in 2006, a collaborative market development program aimed to increase sales and market position in the domestic and export market. Integral to the brand is the education of the species’ attributes to all key stakeholders of the value chain including seafood wholesalers, retailers, food service and media. The results of market development initiatives have been communicated to the owner, head buyer or executive chef of businesses, however, the program failed to support training for key staff such as restaurant front of house and retail counter staff. There is a need for a simple, cost effective training tool due to the high turnover of these positions.

Australian and export clients have consistently requested a “Seafood Flavour Wheel” to assist in menu planning and tasting notes for chefs and sommeliers. Once developed, this tool would be distributed to an initial 500 existing clients to support immediate industry and consumer education. The development of the “Seafood Flavour Wheel” has an extensive level of support from its current client base.

The proposed “Seafood Flavour Wheel” will be a training guide benchmark and has the potential to expand to an Australian guide, inclusive of all seafood species. Specifically, the development of the Eyre Peninsula “Seafood Flavour Wheel” will assist the lack of knowledge and appreciation for the flavours of a target group of seafood species specific to that region.

Equipped with this knowledge, a united industry marketing approach will effectively connect customers with an experience of the unique regional flavour qualities of Eyre Peninsula’s premium seafood. Through this experience, customers will learn to recognise the sensory attributes of Eyre Peninsula seafood and distinguish these products from those originating from other Australian and international regions.

The need for the research lies in the fact that no guideline values exist for pectenotoxins in shellfish. To produce these guidelines toxicological data need to be produced and currently there is a lack of knowledge of the PTX metabolism and mechanisms of toxicity. There is currently no oral toxicology data on the PTX2- seco acids and thus their inpact on human health cannot be assessed. There have been no published works of their metabolism in mammals or humans, and their chronic effects on health are unknown. The clinical symptoms are non-specific to DSP poisoning and it is believed that cases of bacterial poisoning and DSP are mis-diagnosed due to lack of toxicological information.

The presence of pectenotoxins can impose significant economic burden on the shellfish industry. Clear toxicological data on pectenotoxins will be used to undertake a risk assessment of pectenotoxins to enable the shellfish industry and regulators to make informed decisions about the withdrawal of product from sale or closure of farms in the presence of pectenotoxins in shellfish.

The third international billfish symposium has been anticipated by the world's fisheries community since the previous two such meetings (1972,1988) were watersheds in the advancement of knowledge of these important fishes. There have been significant increases in the world's understanding of billfish species stock structure and population dynamics, and corresponding increases in concerns for some global stocks. The Australian populations of billfishes occur in waters off most States and are especially well represented in the region of the Great Barrier Reef. Much of this area has recently been declared to be of World Heritage value and magnificent arrangements for natural resources has been under considerable scrutiny from agencies and organisations not usually concerned with fisheries management. There is a need to examine the global status of our understanding of these fishes and the management regimes adopted throughout the world. Australia may benefit from such an understanding. The broadbill swordfish is in decline in parts of the northern hemisphere and remedial action is needed to protect these stocks. Again, Australia would benefit from an understanding of past and present management practices for this species.