Research into the southern rock lobster in Australia has concentrated on the catching sector (primarily commercial) with limited research being undertaken on the post-settlement and juvenile stages. To maximise the outputs of investigating these stages, while at the same time minimising costs,...
The FRDC sponsored 9th International Conference on Harmful Algal Blooms held in Hobart, Tasmania, from 7-11 February 2000, was a resounding success. It was the largest conference on this topic (526 participants from 47 countries) ever held anywhere in the world. A total of 130 talks and 308 poster...
Exploitation rate is an important fishery assessment parameter linking catch to legal-sized biomass, the portion of the stock available for harvest. Relative change in legal-sized biomass is a crucial performance indicator for the fishery as it measures the success of management...
Skeletal deformities have been observed in cultured flounder in recent years. At times, high percentages of fish are affected, potentially influencing growth and marketability, and affecting the reliability of the experimental data collected. Many growers taking fish for pilot scale grow-out trials...
A prototype of an automatic algal monitoring buoy was developed for unattended operation in shellfish and finfish farm waters. The instrument employs novel antifouling and self-calibration strategies (subject to a provisional patent ) based on a battery-powered actuator extending into the seawater...
Jack mackerel (Trachurus declivis) is a pelagic species that is found in waters off southern Australia and New Zealand. It is the subject of a major fishery, predominantly off Tasmania, with annual landings in the range of 9,000 - 42,000 tonnes. The fishery commenced in the mid 1980s and uses purse...
In Tasmania, there is a paucity of information on the life-history, population parameters and habitat requirements of fish associated with inshore soft-sediment habitats, particularly seagrasses. Clearly, such information is needed before stock assessment models can be developed, recruitment...
Determining the age of sharks is difficult. A reliable independent method of validating age estimates is needed, apart from relying on tag return data. The success of radiometric analysis for bony fish overseas and in Australia suggested that it would be worth trying the method on sharks.
Four...