Ciguatera Fish Poisoning (CFP) causes the largest number of seafood-related food safety incidents in Australia. In NSW and southern QLD waters, CFP is mostly related to Spanish Mackerel (Scomberomorus commerson). Ciguatoxins (CTXs) produced by marine microalgae (Gambierdiscus spp), are polyether toxins that accumulate in fish and cause CFP when fish are eaten. CTXs are heat stable, odourless, tasteless, and toxic at low concentrations, therefore it is very difficult to distinguish toxic fish. In NSW, since 2014, 31 people have contracted CFP after consuming Spanish Mackerel caught locally, mostly through recreational fishing.

Validated commercial monitoring methods for CTXs are unavailable internationally, although research tools for CTX measurement have been developed. Regulatory methods for CFP prevention are to avoid certain fish species, fish of certain sizes (ie >10kg), or fish from certain regions. In Australia, effective prevention methods have not been clearly evaluated. This results in Spanish Mackerel that are safe to eat potentially being excluded from sale, resulting in significant losses (ie > ~$200k p.a in NSW). This project addresses this issue, which was identified as high priority in the Australian ciguatera research strategy formulated at a recent workshop (27-28th March, 2019).

In 2014, FRDC (Tactical Response) and the NSW Recreational Fisheries Trust funded an initial study on the incidence of CTXs in NSW Spanish Mackerel. CTX was present in flesh and liver samples (1-7% incidence), and was not clearly correlated with the weight of individual fish. This information showed that CFP risk management may require reassessment. This project will advance knowledge by: evaluating methods of detection of CTXs; determining detailed predictive data on CTX incidence; and evaluating environmental and biological factors associated with CTX in Spanish Mackerel to allow for an evaluation of risk assessment strategies. This information will benefit industry by enhancing consumer safety and industry confidence, and enabling the sale of safe Spanish Mackerel.

Low cost, practical management regimes for small-scale, low-value fisheries are desperately needed, to ensure long term sustainability for these fisheries without the need for resource hungry management frameworks. While management should focus on output regimes to provide business cases to support investment, input regimes should also be considered. The level of data and/or resource poverty for these low-value/small-scale fisheries is often such that they lack formal data collection protocols. Associated challenges in providing guidance, even at the level of basic data collection regimes, can include limited literacy and numeracy, and profound associated cultural issues associated with indigenous sectors.

A logical first step is to undertake a desktop study that provides guidance and a recommended approach to developing management regimes. This has been long been flagged as a priority by the Northern Territory for its small-scale, low-value fisheries, including those with an indigenous and/or community emphasis.

The focus would be on developing a kernel for advice that is informed by a starting-point case study. The multi-sector N.T. Spanish Mackerel Fishery would be considered in the first instance, but with proactive awareness that guidance should be developed in a format that is able to be more generally adapted. Work would be undertaken in close collaboration with state/territory agencies and indigenous liaison teams.

The innovative nature of the project lies in providing pragmatic, practical, stepwise guidance provided to date to explicitly confront and address the extreme data poverty and, to a lesser extent, the profound cultural issues associated with small-scale, low-value fisheries.

Where appropriate, the project will apply the general advice from the new National Harvest Strategy Guidelines. It will also be enhanced by i) the experience of the project team within the Commonwealth context, and in providing general guidance to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), for data-poor fisheries; and ii) the experience, local knowledge and trusted reputation of the N.T. members of the project team.

The triple-bottom-line (TBL) of environmental/ecological, economic and social management objectives is important for stock sustainability, supporting environment health, resource access, certainty, export approvals and public confidence. However, it has yet to be operationalised within a harvest strategy context.

A harvest strategy (HS) framework specifies pre-determined management actions in a fishery to achieve management objectives via monitoring, assessment and decision rules. As opposed to a broader management strategy or procedure, HSs focus on controlling exploitation rates for relevant species.

To address the TBL requires

a) understanding the impact of environmental (bycatch, habitat, broader), economic and social aspects on a fishery,
b) elicitation of objectives and an understanding of the trade-offs between these,
d) assessment methods that may be applied within a HS.

The National HS Guidelines (FRDC 2010/061) state the importance of establishing operational TBL objectives. The National Strategy for Ecologically Sustainable Development stipulates that these objectives must be considered simultaneously, with none predominating. Queensland fishery management in the Great Barrier Reef Region aims to simultaneously achieve the objectives of the Fisheries Act (Qld) and the GBRMP Act (that permits ecologically sustainable use provided it is consistent with the main object of long-term environmental protection). Thus, addressing the TBL in a HS context is paramount for Queensland GBR fisheries.

The National HS Guidelines recommended the development of case studies to test their practical application, with priority assigned to multi-sector (e.g. commercial and recreational) fisheries that are directly confronted with TBL objectives (noting their mixed data quality and quantity). FRDC 2010/040 developed and tested social objectives for fisheries management but emphasised the outstanding need to integrate social objectives/indicators within HS frameworks.

Queensland multi-sector GBR fisheries provide an ideal starting point to develop and recommend TBL HSs, and one that is timely given the current review of Queensland fisheries management.