368 results
People
PROJECT NUMBER • 2016-401
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Catch the Drift - Leadership and development training for the next generation in the commercial fishing and aquaculture industries

Catch the Drift (CTD)was successfully completed in October 2018 with the completion of the stakeholder survey. The project delivered three CTD programs within the scheduled timeframe, meeting the expected requested participant numbers. Additionally, due to the success of the first two...
ORGANISATION:
Affectus Pty Ltd
Communities
Industry
PROJECT NUMBER • 2014-705
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Seafood CRC: a guide for use by the shark and other fisheries for preparation of information for consumers.

This project aimed to develop ‘how to’ guide for small to medium businesses to assist in navigating the Food Standards Code as well as a simple promotional brochure framework, using Augusta Wild Caught Fisheries to illustrate how it could be used in practice. This guide aims to help...
ORGANISATION:
Curtin University
Industry
PROJECT NUMBER • 2017-103
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

The evaluation of two species, Cobia and Giant Grouper, as alternative species to farm in the WSSV affected areas of South East Queensland.

In 2016/17, the Rocky Point Prawn Farm, along with other farms in the Logan River region of south-east Queensland, was severely affected by a white spot disease outbreak caused by the exotic white spot syndrome virus (WSSV). Measures enforced to eradicate WSSV resulted in a complete loss of stock...
ORGANISATION:
Rocky Point Aquaculture Company Pty Ltd
SPECIES
Environment
PROJECT NUMBER • 2015-012
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Influence of freshwater flows on growth and abundance of Barramundi and Mud Crab in the Northern Territory

The research presented in this report was led by Charles Darwin University and conducted in collaboration with the University of Melbourne and the Fisheries Division of the Northern Territory (NT) Department of Primary Industries and Resources (DPIR). A novel statistical modelling framework based on...
ORGANISATION:
Charles Darwin University (CDU)

Identifying population connectivity of shark bycatch species in NT waters

Project number: 2020-036
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $66,430.00
Principal Investigator: Sam Banks
Organisation: Charles Darwin University (CDU)
Project start/end date: 3 Dec 2020 - 9 Dec 2021
Contact:
FRDC

Need

This project is needed for three main reasons:

1. It directly addresses a NT RAC priority in the 2019 call for funding applications relating to improving sustainable yield estimates to inform stock assessment programs for undefined target species and protected species in the Offshore Net and Line Fishery. The project will support sustainable fishing practices for important commercial fisheries in the NT and the development of new commercial opportunities within these fisheries: The impacts of fishery activities on these species, either through bycatch or targeted harvest, are difficult to assess in the absence of information on population connectivity and stock structure.

2. The project will develop capacity for fisheries research and monitoring in NT waters. Genetics methods are widely applied to fisheries research and monitoring and training of an early career fisheries scientist in the application and interpretation of genetic data will be a key outcome of this project.

3. The project will provide key information to support the transition of these species from bycatch to a harvested byproduct species, including an evaluation of leading-edge genetic techniques in fisheries assessment and monitoring.

Objectives

1. To develop population connectivity model for Whitecheek and Milk Shark
2. To develop capacity for research and monitoring of shark species within the Northern Territory
3. To evaluate the utility of genetic techniques in fisheries monitoring

Final report

ISBN: 978-1-922684-78-3 (Print), 978-1-922684-79-0 (Web)
Authors: Sam Banks Amy Kirke Fernanda Alves Grant Johnson and David Crook
Final Report • 2024-10-01 • 1.08 MB
2020-036-DLD.pdf

Summary

Charles Darwin University and the Northern Territory (NT) Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade (DITT) Fisheries Division used genetic data to investigate the population structure of two small tropical shark species (Milk Shark [Rhizoprionodon acutus] and Australian Blackspot Shark [Carcharhinus coatesi]), which are caught as bycatch from commercial fisheries in the NT. 
 
The aim of this study was to gain information on the genetic stock structure to inform the future management of these two species in the NT. This project was conducted in parallel with a PhD project investigating the biology and ecology of both species for applications to fisheries management. There is motivation by the NT Government to develop these two shark species into a commercial product. This project used genetic analysis to understand the patterns of connectivity of populations of these two shark species in NT waters and adjacent regions, including northern Western Australia and Papua New Guinea.
 
These two shark species that are captured as bycatch in the NT Demersal Fishery have the potential to be developed into a byproduct to add value to that fishery. A sustainable commercial harvest of these two species could greatly reduce the waste from fisheries, where they are currently abundant and caught in relatively large numbers. We address current knowledge gaps in biological information about populations of R. acutus and C. coatesi to inform the potential development of a byproduct fishery for these two species in the NT.
 
Genetic data from R. acutus and C. coatesi strongly suggest that each species exists as a single, highly connected population in the NT. Genetic differentiation among the sampling locations for each species was low, and genetic clustering analyses provided strong support for a single population of each species in the region. Sharks of both species captured within a single location (within 50 km of one another) were more genetically related than those further apart; however, this does not constitute evidence for multiple, spatially discrete populations of either species in NT waters. Preliminary applications of effective population size estimators were used, but further work is needed to determine if these can be used to indicate trends in abundance. 
 
The immediate implications of our research are for fisheries scientists and managers. Our results indicate that these two shark species can be monitored and managed in the NT under the assumption that each species occurs as a single population in this region. Parasite and vertebral chemistry data collected as part of a PhD project conducted in parallel with this project suggest that, for C. coatesi, individuals may be resident within certain regions (eastern versus western NT waters) but the genetic data collected here suggest that, on a generational timescale, both species occur as highly-connected populations across in the NT region. 
 
Our research has potential implications for commercial fishers, particularly from the NT Demersal Fishery. The information from our research will flow through to the industry by contributing to the information required to develop a byproduct fishery for the two species, by utilising bycatch and increasing economic return. 
Industry
PROJECT NUMBER • 2015-213
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Enabling land-based production of juvenile Yellowtail Kingfish in NSW

NSW DPI conducted a series of experiments and commercial-scale production to investigate the viability of producing advanced juvenile yellowtail kingfish (YTK, Seriola lalandi) at the Port Stephens Fisheries Institute (PSFI) during March 2016 - December 2018. There is a significant shortfall of...
ORGANISATION:
Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (NSW)
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