9 results
Environment
PROJECT NUMBER • 2012-200
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Evaluating rotational harvest strategies for sea cucumber fisheries

This project evaluated the benefits of a rotational harvest strategy (the Rotational Zoning Scheme - RZS) in the Queensland East Coast Sea Cucumber (Bêche-de-mer) Fishery and found that, in general, the current management arrangements result in a low risk to most fishery species and reduce the...
ORGANISATION:
CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere Hobart
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PROJECT NUMBER • 2012-739
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

SCRC: Defining the legacy from the CRC's research in Future Harvest

As at March 2013 the Seafood CRC had invested $6.79 million into research projects in its Future Harvest research theme to broadly address the issue of ‘fishing for profit’. The overall outcome and benefit of this legacy project is the improved application of research from the Future...
ORGANISATION:
Thalassa Consulting
Environment
PROJECT NUMBER • 1998-133
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Stock size of beche-de-mer, and recruitment patterns and gene flow in the black teatfish on the Great Barrier Reef

The main purpose of the project was to provide biological data urgently needed for a sustainable management of the black teatfish fishery in the Great Barrier Reef (GBR); The principal goals were: 1) to estimate the standing stock of the black teatfish and estimate densities of other bêche-de-mer...
ORGANISATION:
Australian Institute Of Marine Science (AIMS)

SCRC: Propagation and sea-based growout of sea cucumber stocks in the Northern Territory

Project number: 2009-744
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $0.00
Principal Investigator: Luke Turner
Organisation: Tasmanian Seafoods Pty Ltd Smithton
Project start/end date: 29 Jun 2010 - 30 Mar 2014
:

Need

TSF holds all NT commercial sandfish licenses. TSF aims to double the current production of sea cucumbers through ranching/stock enhancement initiatives. This commitment is demonstrated by the history of investment by TSF over the past 5 years. Two millions dollars has been spent in developing commercial-scale hatchery capacity at the DAC and nursery capacity at a pond-based facility nearby. To ensure the commercial viability of this enterprise there are researchable constraints to be addressed. These are within the area of hatchery and nursery production efficiency and ranching methodologies.

Considerable work has been published on suitable methodologies for the hatchery production of sandfish (Agudo 2006). However, much of this work has been developed by hatcheries in the Asia-Pacific region where methods achieve 5-10% survival from egg to settlement.

TSF has conducted a series of semi-commercial production runs using methodologies developed in the Asia-Pacific and achieved only 5-10% survival. This poses a significant economic constraint to the company’s aim to develop the capacity to produce 300,000 juveniles annually for release programs. A target of 30% survival has been set.

Nursery production is currently a bottleneck and is labour intensive. The area required per juvenile for optimal growth means that an extensive methodology has been adopted in developing countries. This involves either holding animals in fine mesh pens that float in ponds or growing juveniles out in the larval tanks. Maintenance is labour intensive, difficult to monitor and survival is low. In addition, significant mortality occurs during the transfer of juveniles from hatchery to nursery. There is a need to develop a cost effective, efficient nursery production system and improve on methodologies.

The technical feasibility of ranching in Australian tropical conditions is also unknown. Research is needed to identify the best ranching practises to maximise survival, growth and retrieval rate.

Final report

Authors: William M. Bowman Luke H. Turner Grant R. Leeworthy Ann Fleming Jens Knauer Michelle Simoes Andrea L. Birch Mike Gardner
Final Report • 2014-03-31 • 2.26 MB
2009-744-DLD.pdf

Summary

Tasmanian Seafoods has identified stock enhancement as a means to improve the viability of sea cucumber harvesting operations in Northern Australia. Successful enhancement of the fishery has the potential increase catches, reduce harvesting time, and improve the operational efficiency and management of the sea cucumber harvesting business in the Northern Territory.

Considerable work has been published on suitable methodologies for the hatchery and nursery production of sandfish. However, much of this work has been developed by hatcheries in the Asia-Pacific region where there is extreme variability in survival and growth. While much research has been published recently on methods for scaling up the production of temperate species of sea cucumber, the development of technology for culturing tropical species has lagged. Developing improved hatchery and nursery production protocols will compliment a commercial stock enhancement operation through increasing survival rates, increasing production capacity, and ensuring continuity in production year round.

Industry
PROJECT NUMBER • 2016-244
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

TSRA: Assessing direct export feasibility, marketing and branding opportunities for Torres Strait Fisheries derived products

Commercial fishing is an economically important activity in the Torres Strait providing financial opportunities for the traditional inhabitants of the region. A key barrier to development of this fishery has been identified as the additional cost of reaching markets and the cost of doing business...
ORGANISATION:
Honey and Fox Pty Ltd
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PROJECT NUMBER • 2011-720
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

SCRC: Visiting Expert - Kai Lorenzen

Professor Kai Lorenzen is a world-leading expert on sustainable and responsible stock enhancement in fisheries. He has written and produced a computer simulation software package (“EnhanceFish”) that connects the biology and economics of stock enhancement. Professor Lorenzen has also...
ORGANISATION:
Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) WA
TAGS
Environment
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PROJECT NUMBER • 2012-714
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

SCRC: PDRS: Use of next generation DNA technologies for revealing the genetic impact of fisheries restocking and ranching

Several initiatives by the Australian Seafood CRC’s Future Harvest theme involve some form of stocking or enhancement of fisheries. In Western Australia, populations of Roe’s Abalone (Haliotis roei) are currently being restocked after the occurrence of a catastrophic mortality event,...
ORGANISATION:
Flinders University
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PROJECT NUMBER • 2008-733
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

SCRC: Population genetic structure of Sea Cucumbers (bêche-de-mer) in Northern Australia

Sandfish (Holothuria scabra), a commercially important species of Sea Cucumber, are fished off the northern Australian coast. Elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific region, where they are commonly fished, they have been found to be particularly vulnerable to over-exploitation. Currently, as little is known...
ORGANISATION:
Flinders University
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