60 results
Industry
Environment
PROJECT NUMBER • 1984-022
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

A study of seagrass prawn nursery grounds and juvenile prawn populations in north Queensland

Seagrasses are of immense ecological importance in marine ecosystems. Primary production rates for seagrass beds are amongst the highest recorded for marine and terrestrial systems. They have a well documented role as animal habitat, nursery grounds, and as substrate stabilizers. The proximity of...
ORGANISATION:
Department of Primary Industries (QLD)
Environment
Environment
Industry
Industry

Monitoring the relative abundance and biomass of South Australia's iconic giant cuttlefish breeding population

Project number: 2011-054
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $74,162.00
Principal Investigator: Mike A. Steer
Organisation: SARDI Food Safety and Innovation
Project start/end date: 28 Sep 2011 - 27 Feb 2013
Contact:
FRDC

Need

A large spawning aggregation of giant Australian cuttlefish (Sepia apama) usually occurs on a discrete area of rocky reef adjacent to Pt Lowly in northern Spencer Gulf. This is the only known dense aggregation of spawning cuttlefish in the world and it is highly valued by local residents, the tourism industry, and recreational divers. A cephalopod fishing closure was established in the spawning area in 1998 due to a rapid increase in catches in the area and concerns about the sustainability of the resource.

A series of anecdotal reports, filtered through various media sources, has indicated that this year’s (2011) spawning aggregation appears significantly reduced. There is considerable speculation as to why breeding cuttlefish have “failed to turn up” on the Point Lowly Peninsula spawning grounds, ranging from natural variation in their population dynamics, localised pollution by coastal industrial development, and environmental irregularities. In order to effectively respond to this decline, it is important to determine whether it is an ongoing trend, and if so, what its cause is. Structured cuttlefish surveys, where the data have been made publically available, have not occurred since 2005 (see Steer and Hall, 2005), therefore, it is has not possible to ascertain the magnitude of the annual variation in cuttlefish abundance and biomass. Furthermore, there has not been any structured environmental monitoring within the broader northern Spencer Gulf area to investigate any potential casual links between local environmental conditions and cuttlefish aggregative behaviour. Clearly there is a need to develop an on-going monitoring program that quantifies the abundance and biomass of cuttlefish on the spawning grounds, coupled with a structured environmental monitoring program. This is of particular importance as the spawning grounds are located in close proximity to coastal industry and proposed further infrastructure development.

Objectives

1. To develop a ‘standard’ methodology that can be used in the on-going monitoring and assessment of the unique cuttlefish population and the environment in which they aggregate to spawn.
2. To develop a preliminary understanding of whether there have been declines in abundance of the spawning aggregation, and the causes of any decline observed.
Industry
Industry
PROJECT NUMBER • 1994-123
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Value adding to seafood by application of modern drying techniques

There is an enormous market throughout the world for dried seafood, many of which command high prices. Six major markets have been identified by FAO. The Japanese market is very large and is growing slowly. Markets in Hong Kong and Spain, Germany, Italy are big and growing while that in Portugal is...
ORGANISATION:
Department of Primary Industries (QLD)
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