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PROJECT NUMBER • 2000-187
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Direct sensing of the size and abundance of target and non-target fauna in Australian fisheries - a national workshop

Increasing environmental concerns and policy shifts toward more holistic fishery ecosystem management have resulted in demand for rapid, non-destructive assessment techniques for sensing both target and non-target species in fisheries and mariculture, and for mapping benthic habitats. Underwater...
ORGANISATION:
University of Western Australia (UWA)
TAGS
Workshop
Software
Habitat
Electronic Monitoring
Bycatch
Industry
Blank
PROJECT NUMBER • 2019-011
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Optimising Compliance Outcomes in Recreational Fisheries

This study investigated strategies to enhance compliant participation among recreational fishers, using the Peel-Harvey Blue Swimmer Crab fishery in Western Australia (WA) and the Blue Swimmer Crab fishery in South Australia (SA) as case studies. 
ORGANISATION:
University of Western Australia (UWA)
TAGS
Sustainability
Recreational Fishing
Rac Wa
Rac Sa
Human Dimensions Research
SPECIES
Blue Swimmer Crab
Environment
Industry

A scenario analysis of the social impact of the Western Rock Lobster industry management options on fleet hosting communities

Project number: 2004-247
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $427,287.00
Principal Investigator: Matthew Tonts
Organisation: University of Western Australia (UWA)
Project start/end date: 29 Jun 2004 - 31 Oct 2007
Contact:
FRDC
TAGS
Sustainability
Stakeholder
Social Science
Social Science
Fisheries Management
SPECIES
Western Rock Lobster

Need

THE WESTERN ROCK LOBSTER FISHERY IS CURRENTLY MANAGED BY INPUT CONTROLS. THE CURRENT MANAGEMENT ARRANGEMENT IS UNDER REVIEW AND CONSIDERATION IS BEING GIVEN TO A MOVE TOWARDS OUTPUT CONTROLS IN 2006. THERE IS RECOGNITION BY WA FISHERIES AND INDUSTRY OF THE IMPORTANCE OF THE SOCIAL DIMENSION AND THE NEED TO ASSESS THE SOCIAL CONSEQUENCES OF CHANGES IN MANAGEMENT ARRANGEMENTS. THIS STUDY WILL ASSESS THE SOCIAL COMPONENT OF THE FISHERY WHICH WILL INFORM MANAGERS AND INDUSTRY ON THE LIKELY SOCIAL CONSEQUENCES OF CHANGES TO THE EXISTING MANAGEMENT RULES, IN PARTICULAR THE CONSEQUENCES OF A CHANGE FROM INPUT TO OUTPUT CONTROLS. INDUSTRY HAS INDICATED THAT ANY DECISION ON THE FUTURE MANAGEMENT OF THE WESTERN ROCK LOBSTER FISHERY WOULD NOT BE POSSIBLE WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING THE SOCIAL DIMENSION. THIS IS CONSISTENT WITH MOST studies THAT highlight the importance of the social dimension and conclude that more extensive investigation IN THIS AREA is required.

The lack of a well developed model for assessing the social consequences of the industry on hosting communities is a substantial and significant gap in knowledge. Failure to address this gap means that future decision regarding the industry will be flawed. Reliable and valid sustainability assessments must be based on a genuine integration of the environmental, economic and social elements of the triple bottom line. This is consistent with the industry commitment to ESD, and addresses key elements of the FRDC research priorities. The 2000-2005 FRDC R & D Plan states, “it is important to understand social impacts of implementing fisheries management regimes…ESD will be pursued most effectively when the industry is economically strong and when social benefits are clear”. AN INTEGRATED ASSESSMENT OF THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL BENEFITS THAT FLOW TO THE INDUSTRY AND COMMUNITY FROM ECOLOGICALLY SUSTAINABLE USE OF THE WESTERN ROCK LOBSTER RESOURCE WILL ADDRESS THIS IMPERATIVE.

THE OUTCOMES OF THE RESEARCH WILL CONTRIBUTE TO ENSURING THAT THE FISHERY REMAINS WELL MANAGED AND COMMITED TO PRINCIPLES OF ESD. THE POTENTIAL CONTRIBUTION OF THIS PROJECT TO A WIDE RANGE OF DECISION AND PLANNING PROCESSES RECOGNISES THE SIGNIFICANT GAPS IN UNDERSTANDING THE SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS AND IMPACTS OF THE FISHING INDUSTRY IN GENERAL AND THE ROCK LOBSTER FISHERY IN PARTICULAR. AS SUCH, THE STUDY WILL CONTRIBUTE TO A RANGE OF IMPORTANT DECISIONS THAT WILL GUIDE THE FUTURE OF THE INDUSTRY IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA INCLUDING:

A) THE INDUSTRY PROJECT: "DETERMINING THE BEST MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR THE WESTERN ROCK LOBSTER INDUSTRY". THIS INTEGRATED 3 YEAR PROJECT WILL ASSESS THE SOCIAL, ECONONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF THREE DIFFERENT MANAGEMENT SCENARIOS ON THE WESTERN ROCK LOBSTER FISHERY AND THEIR HOSTING COMMUITIES. THE MAIN DRIVER FOR THE PROJECT IS NATIONAL COMPETITION POLICY. THIS RESEARCH WILL ENABLE DECISION MAKERS TO ADDRESS THE NCP'S ‘NET COMMUNITY BENEFIT’ TEST WITH A FULL APPRECIATION OF THE SOCIAL IMPACT OF CHANGES ON FLEET HOSTING COMMUNITIES. THIS DATA IS NOT CURRENTLY AVAILABLE.

B) MARINE PARK PLANNING: A THOROUGH UNDERSTANDING OF THE IMPLICATIONS OF REALLOCATING FISHERIES RESOURCES FROM EXTRACTIVE USERS SUCH AS COMMERCIAL AND RECREATIONAL FISHERIES TO NON EXTRACTIVE USERS SUCH AS DIVE CHARTERS REQUIRE INFORMATION ON SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC ASPECTS. THIS RESEARCH PROJECT WILL ENABLE THE MARINE PARK PLANNING PROCESS TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE SOCIAL COSTS OF CHANGES THAT WILL RESULT FROM MARINE PARK PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTING A SERIES OF MARINE PROTECTED AREAS ON COASTAL COMMUNITIES.

C) INTEGRATED FISHERIES MANAGEMENT: THE OUTCOMES OF THIS PROJECT WILL ASSIST DECISION MAKERS ENGAGED IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN INTEGRATED FISHERIES MANAGEMENT PLAN. THIS PLAN WILL HAVE IMPORTANT IMPLICATIONS FOR FISHERIES MANAGEMENT AND A FULL APPRECIATION OF THE SOCIAL DIMENSIONS IS CRUCIAL TO INFORMED, INTEGRATED PLANNING. THE BASIS OF INTEGRATED FISHERIES MANAGEMENT IS EXPLICIT ALLOCATION OF THE FISHERIES RESOURCES BETWEEN EXTRACTIVE USERS, FOR EXAMPLE, AN EXPLICIT ALLOCATION OF WESTERN ROCK LOBSTER BETWEEN THE RECREATIONAL AND COMMERCIAL SECTOR. THIS RESEARCH WILL ASSIST IN UNDERSTANDING THE SOCIAL COSTS OR BENEFITS OF REALLOCATION OF THE RESOURCE FROM COMMERCIAL TO RECREATIONAL USERS.

Objectives

1. To assist in the formulation of authoritative advice based on a thorough understanding of ESD principles (particularly social) to the relevant minister in response to national competition policy (NCP).
2. To establish a database of quantitative and qualitative social indicators for the communities hosting the western rock lobster fleet that will enable an integrated socio-economic assessment of a range of industry management options.
3. To contribute to the development of a framework and predictive sustainability assessment model integrating social data with environmental and economic data for use in predicting the wider effects of management changes on host communities.

Final report

Author: Mathew Tonts
Final Report • 2008-09-04 • 17.19 MB
2004-247-DLD.pdf

Characterising the fish habitats in the Recherche Archipelago, Western Australia

Project number: 2001-060
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $609,172.00
Principal Investigator: Gary Kendrick
Organisation: University of Western Australia (UWA)
Project start/end date: 7 Dec 2001 - 5 Dec 2005
Contact:
FRDC
TAGS
Workforce
Training
Sustainability
Economic
Community

Need

Fisheries WA demonstrated in their Aquaculture Plan for the Recherche Archipelago (Fisheries WA 2000) that one of the major factors slowing development in this region is lack of accurate spatially explicit data on the distributions of benthic habitats and the influence of currents and wind generated waves. This information is required to aid the selection of suitable offshore aquaculture facilities and in the development of multiple use management plans.

This FRDC application, rather than focusing on cultural, economic and social elements of resource planning concentrates on the physical and biological data requirements. Many important cultural, economic and social issues have been identified in community and industry consultation by Fisheries WA during the development of the Aquaculture plan for the recherche Archipelago (Fisheries WA, 2000). The major outcome from these documents was that most other users of the Archipelago (Tourism, Shipping, Recreational and other commercial fishermen) indicated they were not happy with wholesale aquaculture development until accurate assessments of the benthic habitats and oceanography were completed over a wide spatial scale within the Archipelago. The recognition of this need has provided impetus resulting in aquaculture proponents (MG Kailis, Maritime Training Centre of Esperance), other fisheries (Esperance Professional Fishers Association, Esperance Professional Abalone Divers Association, 2 Recreational Angling Clubs), shipping concerns (Esperance Port Authority and industries utilising the port), tourism (Goldfields Esperance Development Commission), government departments (CALM, Fisheries WA, The Esperance Shire) and local concerned citizens (Recherche Action Group, Local Environmental Action Forum) all providing formal support for this application.

These groups see the need for representative broad scale bio-physical information to be used in the integrated planning to ensure the compatibility and sustainability of a diverse range of marine a coastal activities. This will ensure that the quality of the environment and the quality of life experienced by the populace living in Recherche Archipelago region is balanced with the need for new job creation in the region.

The 2.5 year research program we describe in this proposal will fulfil bio-physical data requirements for that planning process. This data will be available for incorporation into existing regional planning documents written in conjunction with cultural economic and social components that have been collected by Fisheries WA. It will also compliment and enhance information collected and developed by the Marine Group of the Department of Conservation and Land Management as part of the community and industry consultation involved in the MPA planning process.

Objectives

1. To identify, classify and map the distribution of, different benthic habitats in the Recherche Archipelago and link their distributions to bottom type and exposure to swells and currents.
2. To provide detailed ecological information to contribute to the responsible management of aquaculture fisheries in the region.
3. To increase community awareness of fish habitats through community involvement in the development of the planned biophysical surveys and through community and stakeholder consultation and presentations.

Final report

ISBN: 1-74052-123-6
Author: Gary Kendrick
Final Report • 2006-02-21 • 31.40 MB
2001-060-DLD.pdf

Summary

This project is a joint Esperance community (through the Recherche Advisory Group - RAG), research scientist and resource management project. The commitment of RAG has allowed the researchers to efficiently transfer scientific information to the general public of Esperance and the South Coast of Western Australia and keep the research focused on management outcomes.

The outcomes of this report are:

  1. The design of a hierarchical classification scheme of benthic habitats in the Recherche Archipelago.
  2. An extensive habitat map of the Western Recherche Archipelago at both broad and functional habitat classifications and less detailed habitat maps of duke of Orleans Bay and Cape Arid to Middle Island.
  3. An oceanographic model of the influence of ocean swells on the Western Recherche Archipelago. This model includes an assessment of swell driven shear at the benthos.
  4. A broad scale fisheries-independent non-destructive survey of the demersal fish of the Recherche from Esperance Bay to Cape Arid. The survey was designed to capture habitat differences in fish assemblages. 
  5. A broad scale (within the Western Archipelago) survey of the infauna found in a range of soft bottom habitats including coarse sands, rhodoliths and sparsely vegetated sands.
  6. Fine scale diversity surveys of reef communities on islands in the archipelago from Figure of Eight to Middle Island. These surveys integrate information from both habitat mapping and physical oceanographic modelling.

Keywords: habitat, classification, mapping, oceanography, benthic, algae, infauna, sessile invertebrate

Industry
Industry
PROJECT NUMBER • 2004-236
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Aquaculture Nutrition Subprogram: evaluation of value-added grain protein products for Atlantic salmon and black tiger prawns

This program represents a major collaborative initiative between the Grains and Fisheries Research and Development Corporations. It has engaged seven different research providers and three industrial collaborators in achieving its outcomes. Numerous findings were encountered through this program,...
ORGANISATION:
University of Western Australia (UWA)
TAGS
Value Add
Nutrition
Aquaculture
Agriculture
SPECIES
Atlantic Salmon
Black Tiger Prawn
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