2 results

FRDC-DCCEE: preparing fisheries for climate change: identifying adaptation options for four key fisheries in South Eastern Australia

Project number: 2011-039
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $655,000.00
Principal Investigator: Gretta T. Pecl
Organisation: University of Tasmania (UTAS)
Project start/end date: 14 Jan 2012 - 31 Aug 2013
Contact:
FRDC
TAGS
Population Dynamics
Harvest Strategy
Ecosystem
Distribution
Climate Change
SPECIES
Snapper
Blue Grenadier
Southern Rock Lobster
Blacklip Abalone
Greenlip Abalone

Need

A project to inform fisheries adaptation to climate change is needed in the South East region because:
1) it is an international ‘hotspot’ for marine climate change, which is currently displaying signs of perturbation and where further shifts, shrinkages and expansions of ecosystems and species distributions are expected;
2) it produces >50% of Australia’s seafood and is home to 60% of the Australian population;
3) a formal risk assessment identified fisheries species at highest risk from climate changes are also those with highest economic importance to the region;
4) its fisheries are managed by five separate jurisdictions whose adaption responses will need to be well coordinated if negative impacts are to be reduced effectively and opportunities that arise are to be seized.

Objectives

1. Identify likely key effects of climate change on four major fisheries species in SE Australia (rock lobster, abalone, snapper and blue grenadier), particularly where these effects may impact the harvest strategies for these species.
2. Identify options for improving assessment and management frameworks (e.g. fisheries models, performance measures, decision rules, and harvest strategies) to ensure that they perform effectively under likely climate change scenarios (e.g. account for assumptions of temporal stability in temperature-influenced parameters such growth and recruitment).
3. Evaluate options for adjusting management arrangements to reduce negative impacts and maximise uptake of opportunities that climate change may provide to commercial and recreational fisheries (including improvements in coordination and consistency among jurisdictions).
4. Identify improvements to current monitoring systems for rock lobster, abalone and snapper and their habitats to ensure that they are suitable for measuring the likely impacts of climate change and other drivers.

Final report

Final Report • 6.39 MB
2011-039-DLD.pdf

Summary

Over the next century, the marine ecosystems of south-eastern Australia are expected to exhibit some of the largest climate-driven changes in the Southern Hemisphere. The effects of these changes on communities and businesses will depend, in part, on how well fishing industries and resource managers adapt to these challenges. 
 
This project was developed using the results of a formal assessment of the relative risk to climate change impacts on key fisheries species of south east Australia. Species selected as case studies in this project were identified as being at high (rock lobster, abalone, blue grenadier) or medium (snapper) risk to climate change impacts and having high commercial value and/or recreational importance. The case study species were also identified as being likely to provide useful insights into how fisheries can adapt to changes in productivity (rock lobster) and/or distribution (snapper). Two species (rock lobster and abalone) are considered potential ecological indicators for rocky reefs, whereas snapper is an important component of coastal fish assemblages and blue grenadier occurs further offshore. The goal of the project was to identify adaptation options to enhance the profitability of commercial fisheries and maximise opportunities for participation in recreational fishing.

Understanding shelf-break habitat for sustainable management of fisheries with spatial overlap.

Project number: 2004-066
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $514,126.61
Principal Investigator: Caleb Gardner
Organisation: University of Tasmania (UTAS)
Project start/end date: 28 Oct 2003 - 30 Aug 2007
Contact:
FRDC
TAGS
Population Dynamics
Oceanography
Habitat
Fishing Gear
Environmental Impact
SPECIES
Mirror Dory
Pink Ling
Blue Grenadier
Giant Crab
Blue-eye Trevallas

Need

The need for this project was identified by fishery managers and industry and addresses high priority strategic research areas identified by both state and national fisheries organisations. It is research that targets a high priority need across Australian fisheries: understanding the effects of fishing activities on fish and their ecosystems. The need for research is compounded in shelf-break habitats due to: (a) scarcity of basic information about shelf break habitats, (b) slow growth of many species in this region implying less resilience to impacts, (c) interaction effects between different sectors that may compound impacts.

The research need on addressing interaction between different sectors will be specifically addressed here in relation to the interaction between trawl and crab trapping sectors. This interaction between different fishing sectors is not unusual and is likely to be repeated in the future – work conducted here will assist in providing a template for resolution.

Understanding shelf-break habitat for sustainable management of fisheries with spatial overlap was identified as the number 1 research priority for Tasmanian crustacean research by both DPIWE and representatives of the Tasmanian crustacean fishing industry at the Tasmanian Crustacean Research Advisory Group.

The project focus is also consistent with strategies developed by the Commonwealth agencies involved in management of industries based around the shelf-break: the Commonwealth Government and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Australia (AFFA). It is targeted to the FRDC program of Natural Resource Sustainability through the strategies of “Interactions between fish and their ecosystems” and “Effects of fishing activities on fish and their ecosystems”.

Objectives

1. Define and map key habitats on the shelf edge (~80-180 fm) at key locations around Tasmania where fisheries using different gear types interact.
2. Evaluate their resistance and resilience to impact from fishing gears based using the semi-quantitative 'Ecological Risk Assessment' framework
3. Detail the distribution of exploited shelf-edge species in relation to habitat features
4. Evaluate ecosystem links within habitats based on trophic, temperature and current-flow data
5. Evaluate using video to obtain stock assessment information such as abundance, sex ratio, condition and size of target species, primarily the giant crab

Final report

ISBN: 9.78E+12
Author: Caleb Gardner
Final Report • 2010-05-18 • 63.94 MB
2004-066-DLD.pdf
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Research

Species

Organisation