131 results
Environment
People
Environment
PROJECT NUMBER • 2017-119
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Developing novel remote camera approaches to assess and monitor the population status of Australian sea lions

This project trialled the use of remote cameras to monitor the relative abundance of Australian sea lions (ASLs, Neophoca cinerea) at three Western Australian (WA) breeding colonies. The research was undertaken by the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) to assess...
ORGANISATION:
Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) WA
Environment
People
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)
Environment
Industry
PROJECT NUMBER • 2001-225
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Development of sponge (Spongia Spp.) farming as a viable commercial enterprise for remote Aboriginal communities

Sponges have been employed for thousands of years for a wide variety of purposes, most commonly for basic hygiene (bath/toilet sponges), padding (historically under armour and saddles) and in certain manufacturing processes. World production from the wild harvest has, however, declined significantly...
ORGANISATION:
Charles Darwin University (CDU)

Development and cost-benefit analysis of an electronic observer system to monitor a remote small vessel commercial fishery

Project number: 2006-030
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $29,504.00
Principal Investigator: Damien Trinder
Organisation: Pelagicus Pty Ltd
Project start/end date: 29 Sep 2006 - 14 Sep 2008
Contact:
FRDC

Need

Monitoring of remote small vessel fisheries in Australia is often difficult and always costly. Travel costs, observer wages, and operational inefficiencies and restrictions of small vessels in accommodating on-board observers are all factors which act to restrict monitoring coverage while still incurring a relatively high cost to industry. With the a growing need for accurate catch and effort data and the high costs and operational restrictions of using human observers there is a subsequent need to find a cost-effective alternative that will not only improve coverage levels but also reduce costs.

The Nickol Bay Professional Fishermans Association, acting on behalf of the operators in the Western Australian Interim Managed Pilbara Trawl Fishery (PTF) currently contracts Pelagicus Pty Ltd to provide on-board fisheries observers, but given the remoteness of the fishery and the small number of vessels operating, financial restrictions mean that only a portion of the fleet’s fishing activity can be monitored. In response to this problem the PTF and Pelagicus Pty Ltd will be undertaking a pilot project in October 2005 to test the feasibility of using an Electronic Observer System (EOS), incorporating high resolution digital video cameras to collect and collate a range of fisheries independent catch and effort data. If the EOS is deemed a feasible alternative in terms of fisheries data collection capabilities suitable for fisheries monitoring purposes there will be a strong need to ascertain the relative costs-benefits of implementing and operating this form of monitoring in comparison to the use of on-board human observers.

Objectives

1. To determine the full range of costs and benefits of implementing an Electronic Observer System, over a 12 month period, in the Western Australian Interim Managed Pilbara Trawl Fisher.
2. To compare the full range of cost and benefits of an electronic observer system with the full range of costs and benefits of a concurrently run on-board human observer program.
3. Undertake a feasibility analysis of the electronic system vs an onboard system that includes the likely adoption, management implications and responses.
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