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Target species of Tasmanian scalefish fisheries (TSF) remain difficult to assess and manage due to the wide range of species (> 20 species) and variety of both commercial and recreational fisheries methods. TSF are currently assessed using commercial catch and effort data as well as age and length information. However, some key TSF species landings are increasingly greater in the recreational sector, with a comparatively low commercial catch. Therefore, due to the absence of regular and robust CPUE data, innovative fishery independent data collection programs are required to routinely monitor TSF species and provide adequate data for stock assessment models. This project will review and collate data from previous studies to design and test strategic and cost-effective novel fishery-independent survey methods that collect population dynamics data for a suite of key scalefish fisheries species, across both environmental and fishing intensity gradients in Tasmania. Outcomes will improve stock assessment methods by providing new and additional data for data-poor and undefined species, and, if proven cost-effective, establish an ongoing, long-term fishery-independent monitoring program to enhance the sustainability of TSF. We will collate historical data on Tasmanian scalefish abundance, biomass, distribution, and length-frequencies collected in previous research projects and collect and compare new data to fill current knowledge gaps about localised population depletion and population dynamics across different habitats. Many of the popular commercial and recreational scalefish fisheries are increasingly of concern, with southern sand flathead, southern garfish, and bastard and striped trumpeters all assessed as depleted in the most recent (2020/21) Tasmanian stock assessment (Fraser et al 2022), while others (such as flounder - Pleuronectidae family, longsnout boarfish, and barracouta) were assessed as undefined due to lack of available data for these species. Our results will better inform data-poor stock assessment approaches and will have implications for fisheries managers making critical management decisions for depleted, depleting, and undefined Tasmanian scalefish fisheries species.

Objectives

1. Determine the benefits and limitations of alternative stereo-video methods to collect image-based fish size estimates, including assessing the effectiveness of length-monitoring to inform assessments of depleted/depleting and undefined commercial scalefish species.

2. Investigate image processing software for the implementation of a fully automated system for post-processing of stereo-video surveys using artificial intelligence and machine learning.

3. Compare length-frequencies of key scalefish species from fishery-dependent and independent survey datasets and length-based stock assessment methods.

4. Investigate novel sampling methods to collect length data of key scalefish species.

5. Conduct a comprehensive cost-benefit analyses of traditional versus novel monitoring methods, including power to ensure the feasibility of implementing and incorporating novel methods into regular fisheries-independent monitoring and assessment outcomes.

6. Investigate the role of incorporating citizen science and include recreational fishers’ engagement in supporting cost-effective and novel fisheries-independent monitoring programs.

Sea Change: co-developing pathways to mitigate and adapt to a changing climate for fisheries and aquaculture in Australia

Project number: 2023-011

Project Status:

Current

Budget expenditure: $1,628,586.00

Principal Investigator: Gretta T. Pecl

Organisation: University of Tasmania (UTAS)

Project start/end date: 31 Oct 2023 - 30 Apr 2027

Contact:

FRDC

TAGS

Need

There is a need to increase effective engagement between fishing and aquaculture stakeholders and climate science and scientists in an ongoing strategic way, and not ‘just’ for single-project outcomes.

Improved engagement will help increase understanding of the likely implications of a changing climate in relevant contexts, and lay foundations for a shared exploration of available options for reducing risk exposure. We have worked with stakeholders and the FRDC Extension Officer Network to design a strategy that will engage fishing and aquaculture stakeholders on existing knowledge regarding risks and opportunities associated with a changing climate, to enable resource managers and researchers to better understand the ways in which many sectors are already adapting autonomously and to identify the barriers to further adaptation, and to co-design solutions that are relevant at local- and industry-levels to help build climate-ready communities and to stimulate economic resilience.

In many cases (but not all), extensive information regarding marine climate change - including key risks to fisheries and aquaculture producers (at a high level) - is already available, along with information on how to develop adaptation plans. However, despite this, progress and uptake within most sectors in terms of planned adaptation responses has been very slow – although many individual operators are already making ‘autonomous’ changes to their day-to-day operations in response to climate change drivers. If these changes are being made without access to best available knowledge, then it is very likely that substantial portions of these responses are maladaptive in the longer term, or may be countervailing to planned government adaptations (see Pecl et al 2019, Ambio, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13280-019-01186-x). This is a pattern evident within many different industries around Australia and across the rest of the world. ‘What’ needs to happen has thus been outlined in general terms in many cases, but such information is not co-developed or provided in consultation with end-users in ways that resonate or are useful to them. This project will address this need for relevance and usefulness.

The project aims to develop reflexive, ongoing, and two-way knowledge exchange between industry representatives, operators and manager, and the marine climate change impacts and adaptation research sector, so that solutions are co-designed, usable, and adoptable.

Objectives

1. Work with seafood industry leaders to establish two-way climate conversations that can strengthen and underpin Australian fishing and aquaculture’s resilience to a changing climate. This approach will facilitate co-design of pathways to increase agility and build capacity for climate change adaptation with a select number of fisheries and aquaculture operations. This process will also create a model that can be applicable to other RDC’s.

2. Create a climate conversations platform to facilitate knowledge exchange (including identifying ‘gaps’ and shared issues), and thus capture, disseminate, and showcase:a. How fishing and aquaculture sectors are already adapting and responding to recent changesb. What has facilitated these changes made, and what the barriers are to further adaptationc. The story of fishing and aquaculture’s efforts towards achieving climate resilience - using a dynamic ‘story map’ approach, and other multi-media, communicate progress to target audiences.

3. Identify a) key factors influencing the agility of fisheries and aquaculture to adapt to climate change, and b) which factors (e.g. opportunities) are most important for adaptation capacity-building for different types of operations - building on work underway across multiple domestic and international projects and working groups.

4. Co-develop pathways, with a select number of fisheries and aquaculture operations, to increase their agility and build sector capacity for climate change adaptation and resilience.

5. Support the development of communities of practice for groups of fisheries and/or aquaculture operations that have similar opportunities and pathways – to support increased agility and capacity building for climate change adaptation (determined in objective 3).

PROJECT NUMBER • 2015-024

PROJECT STATUS:

CURRENT

Managing ecosystem interactions across differing environments: building flexibility and risk assurance into environmental management strategies

Summary The overarching aim of this research was to provide an improved understanding of the environmental interactions of Atlantic Salmon farming and to provide recommendations to both government and industry on monitoring and management strategies that are appropriate to the level of risk...

ORGANISATION:

University of Tasmania (UTAS)

TAGS

SPECIES

Post graduate support for novel governance for a changing ocean

Project number: 2023-031

Project Status:

Current

Budget expenditure: $89,532.00

Principal Investigator: Andrew Sullivan

Organisation: University of Tasmania (UTAS)

Project start/end date: 31 Aug 2023 - 30 Dec 2026

Contact:

FRDC

TAGS

Leadership

Capacity Building

Need

Project funding will provide the PI with additional resources that enable him to focus on achieving the requirements and objectives of his research and PhD completion to a high standard and on-time.

The project funding application covers four key areas:

1. Additional stipend: to provide an adequate living allowance.
2. Travel: attendance of international conferences is a key vehicle to build skills an experience in the international policy and diplomacy fields as well as providing the opportunity to collect valuable research data. These skills and networks will ultimately benefit the Australian fishing and aquaculture community through the sharing of knowledge and networks.
3. Training: Facilitation training has been identified as an opportunity for development
4. Communication and content creation: developing content to assist with promoting and communicating the results of the research.

Having members and advocates of the Australian fishing and aquaculture community informed and skilled in the way international governance agreements are developed and then translated into domestic policy is extremely important, and a current gap in our capability and capacity.