9 results
Environment
PROJECT NUMBER • 2018-159
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Spawning biomass of Jack Mackerel (Trachurus declivis) in the East sub-area of the Small Pelagic Fishery during summer 2019

Estimates of spawning biomass obtained using the Daily Egg Production Method (DEPM) are the primary biological performance indicator for quota species in the Small Pelagic Fishery (SPF). The objective of this study was to conduct ichthyoplankton and adult trawl surveys that underpin the DEPM in the...
ORGANISATION:
SARDI Food Safety and Innovation
SPECIES
Communities
PROJECT NUMBER • 2017-098
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Southern Bluefin Tuna: Changing The Trajectory

Life on the Line is the true story of the Southern Bluefin Tuna, its biological traits and its history of exploitation and most recently its recovery. This documentary covers how research, managers and the fishing industry - commercial and recreational have contributed to the recovering status of...
ORGANISATION:
Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA)

Egg distribution, reproductive parameters and spawning biomass of Blue Mackerel, Australian Sardine and Tailor off the East Coast during late winter and early spring

Project number: 2014-033
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $247,000.00
Principal Investigator: Timothy M. Ward
Organisation: SARDI Food Safety and Innovation
Project start/end date: 9 Aug 2014 - 30 Oct 2015
Contact:
FRDC

Need

Knowledge of the winter/spring spawning patterns of Blue Mackerel and Australian Sardine is needed to underpin future assessment of these stocks and to underpin the ecologically sustainable development of pelagic fish resources off the East Coast of Australia.

Recent and robust estimates the population size of Blue Mackerel and Australian Sardine off the East Coast are needed to address community concerns regarding the potential ecological impacts of large scale fishing for small pelagic fishes off the East Coast.

Information on the egg distribution, reproductive parameters and spawning biomass of Tailor is needed to inform future management of this iconic recreational fishing species.

Objectives

1. Determine distribution and abundance of eggs and larvae of Blue Mackerel, Australian Sardine and Tailor off the East Coast during winter/spring.
2. Establish methods for estimating adult reproductive parameters of Blue Mackerel, Australian Sardine and Tailor off the East Coast during winter/spring.
3. Produce preliminary estimates of the spawning biomass of Blue Mackerel, Australian Sardine and Tailor of the East Coast during winter/spring.

Beyond GVP: The value of inshore commercial fisheries to fishers and consumers in regional communities on Queensland’s east coast

Project number: 2013-301
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $179,648.64
Principal Investigator: Sean Pascoe
Organisation: CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere Hobart
Project start/end date: 31 Dec 2013 - 29 Jun 2016
Contact:
FRDC

Need

There are multiple threats to ongoing access/operation of commercial inshore fisheries (finfish and crab) along Queensland’s east coast. These include port developments and expansions, coastal development, public perception (which influences management) and competition between fishing sectors (which also influences management). These threats to access could adversely affect not only commercial fishers themselves, but also secondary industries as well as the availability of seafood to local communities. It is now well documented that consumers prefer local seafood products, and are willing to pay more for seafood labelled ‘local’ (Tobin et al. 2010; Calogeras et al. 2011).

It could be assumed that reducing these threats and ensuring ongoing operation of commercial fisheries and local seafood supply is desirable, for many social and economic reasons. Yet there is little information about the value inshore commercial fisheries and fishing businesses provide to communities (aside from the much used GVP, which has long been recognised as a nonsensical measure of value (e.g. Edwards 1991, McPhee & Hundloe 2004)), or the relative value of local seafood compared to non-local seafood for consumers.

Without knowing the real economic value of commercial fisheries and local seafood for regional communities, decisions regarding management of, and access to, resources are likely to be ill informed. Real value information can be used to ensure appropriate access of fishers and consumers to fisheries resources, better assess the economic impacts of other coastal activities that negatively affect fishing, or better inform reallocation processes where necessary.

Objectives

1. Determine the economic value of inshore commercial finfish and crab fisheries within Qld east-coast regional communities
2. Model the flow-on economic and employment value of inshore commercial fisheries
3. Determine the relative value of local seafood compared to non-local Australian or imported products
4. Develop a transferable methodology template to measure the value of commercial fisheries to regional communities for a broader range of fisheries

Final report

ISBN: 978-1-4863-0728-9
Author: Sean Pascoe

Summer spawning patterns and preliminary Daily Egg Production Method survey of Jack Mackerel and Sardine off the East Coast

Project number: 2013-053
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $220,000.00
Principal Investigator: Timothy M. Ward
Organisation: SARDI Food Safety and Innovation
Project start/end date: 19 Dec 2013 - 19 Dec 2014
Contact:
FRDC

Need

Knowledge of the summer spawning patterns of Jack Mackerel and Australian Sardine is needed to underpin future assessment of these stocks and to underpin the ecologically sustainable development of pelagic fish resources off the East Coast of Australia.

Methods for estimating the population size of Jack Mackerel and Australian Sardine need be established to address community concerns regarding the potential ecological and social impacts of large scale fishing for small pelagic fishes off the East Coast.

Objectives

1. Establish methods for estimating adult reproductive parameters of Jack Mackerel and Australian Sardine off the East Coast.
2. Determine distribution and abundance of eggs and larvae of Jack Mackerel and Australian Sardine off East Coast during summer
3. Produce preliminary estimates of the spawning biomass of Jack Mackerel and Australian Sardine off the East Coast during summer

Final report

ISBN: 978-1-921563-73-7
Author: Tim M. Ward
Final Report • 2015-03-18 • 1.73 MB
2013-053-DLD.pdf

Summary

This study was undertaken collaboratively by fisheries scientists from the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI) and the University of Tasmania. It was the first dedicated application of the Daily Egg Production Method (DEPM) to Jack Mackerel, Trachurus declivis. It successfully collected large numbers of samples of eggs and adults concurrently from the key spawning area off eastern Australia during what has been previously identified as the main spawning period. The study established an effective method for sampling adult Jack Mackerel and provides the first estimates for this species of the adult reproductive parameters required for application of the DEPM. The spawning biomass of Jack Mackerel off eastern Australia during January 2014 was estimated to be approximately 157,805 t (95% CI = 59,570  358,731). Most of the estimates of spawning biomass obtained in sensitivity analyses were between approximately 95,000 t and 215,000 t. Plausible values for only two parameters provide estimates of spawning biomass that were outside that range; both of these parameters were estimated with a high degree of confidence in the present study. 

This was also the first study to investigate the spawning habitat of Australian Sardine Sardinops sagax off eastern Australia during summer. It showed that during January 2014 spawning occurred between northern Tasmania and southern Victoria. The spawning biomass at this location during this period was approximately 10,962 t. This estimate should be treated with caution as adult samples were not collected during the study.  It also is important to note that this not an estimate of the total adult biomass of Australian Sardine off eastern Australia. It is only an estimate of the portion of the population that was spawning in this southern part of the range during that period. The main spawning area of Australian Sardine off eastern Australia occurs off southern Queensland and northern NSW during late winter and early spring.

Keywords: Jack Mackerel, Trachurus declivis, Australian Sardine, Sardinops sagax, Daily Egg Production Method, Spawning Biomass, Small Pelagic Fishery, eastern Australia, Tasmania, Bass Strait.

Life history specific habitat utilisation of tropical fisheries species

Project number: 2013-046
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $300,000.00
Principal Investigator: Marcus Sheaves
Organisation: James Cook University (JCU)
Project start/end date: 31 Dec 2013 - 8 Jun 2016
Contact:
FRDC

Need

The health and longevity of fisheries depend on access critical habitats appropriate to each particular life-history stage. While many key fisheries habitats are under threat from rapidly increasing coastal development, management of those habitats is severely hampered by very poor understanding of these life history-stage habitat requirements. This not only prevents effective management of critical fisheries resources but hampers the ability to direct development to enhance, rather than degrade fisheries value. At the moment many management and offsets actions are unsatisfactory to all users because they are based on incomplete understanding of fish-habitat relationships. This means actions and offsets rarely product tangible gains in ecosystem health or biodiversity, frustrating fishers, environmentalists, developers and governments alike. Not only can carefully designed developments provide new areas of critical habitat to replace habitats damaged in the past, but the opportunity exists for directing mandatory offsets from new coastal developments towards beneficial fisheries outcomes. This would provide the basis for greatly improved management of coastal fisheries habitats and would help to direct effective offset strategies, assist in directing fisheries friendly infrastructure design, and allow the development of metrics appropriate to the definitive measurement of specific fisheries outcomes from particular offset actions. Consequently, improved understanding of stage-specific habitat requirements of fisheries species is central to both the long-term health of fish stocks and fisheries productivity, and the effective management of coastal development to enhance fisheries values.

Objectives

1. Develop detailed models of the life history stage-specific habitat utilisation of key coastal and estuarine fisheries species at of the most detailed mensurative level possible (quantitative or semi-quantitative)
2. Formalise and consolidate fisher knowledge on fish-habitat relationships into an organised fish-habitat understanding,
3. Develop estimates of the relative contributions of different juvenile habitats to adult populations, and estimates of the relative value per unit area of alternative stage-specific habitats to fisheries stocks
4. Quantify the key resources provided by critical habitats over life histories
5. Develop specific, achievable measures of fisheries benefits stemming from repair, revitalisation and supplementation work
6. Provide information a-e in forms that can inform fisheries habitat management and repair, and value-add to habitat mapping

Final report

ISBN: 978-0-9925222-1-6
Author: Marcus Sheaves
Industry
PROJECT NUMBER • 2003-060
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Byproduct: Catch, economics and co-occurrence in Australias longline fisheries

The longline sector of the Eastern Tuna and Billfish Fishery (ETBF) and the Southern and Western Tuna and Billfish Fishery (SWTBF) target four main species and incidentally take over 80 other species as “bycatch”. Significant amounts of these species are often retained for sale, and...
ORGANISATION:
Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) ABARES
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