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Industry
Industry
PROJECT NUMBER • 2017-137
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Understanding the Markets for Western Rock Lobster (Phase 1 Market Intelligence)

This report outlines work completed by the Western Rock Lobster (WRL) Council. Data has been gathered from a number of sources (across several general categories of market information (e.g. production, trade, prices, economic activity) to create a comprehensive and continuously updated...
ORGANISATION:
Western Rock Lobster Council Inc (WRLC)
People
PROJECT NUMBER • 2013-748.20
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Seafood CRC: addressing roadblocks to the adoption of economics in fisheries policy (2013/748.20 Communal)

This project has led to the development of three journal articles examining how the use of economic analyses and stock enhancement can lead to improved economic outcomes in Australian wild-capture commercial fisheries. The Seafood Cooperative Research Centre (Seafood CRC) Future Harvest (FH)...
ORGANISATION:
University of Tasmania (UTAS)

Mitigation measures to reduce entanglements of migrating whales with commercial fishing gear

Project number: 2014-004
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $499,999.00
Principal Investigator: Jason How
Organisation: Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) WA
Project start/end date: 1 May 2014 - 7 Jul 2016
Contact:
FRDC

Need

Whale entanglements in the western rock lobster (WRL) fishery have increased dramatically with changes in fishing times from a move to a quota. The recent commonwealth Department for the Environment (DE) assessment removed the fishery from five-year export approval, granting a two-year Wildlife Trade Order (WTO) with conditions on whale entanglements. Subsequent correspondence from the Department of Fisheries (DoF) and DE requested information from industry as to what actions will undertaken for the 2014 and 2013 humpback migrations respectively. DoF correspondence indicated a seasonal closure may be implemented ‘in the absence of specific alternative action(s)’. A closure during the humpback migration (1 May-30 Nov) would concentrate fishing into the remaining 5 months resulting in a reduced beach price. Winter beach prices are ~$70/kg, with a move from this high value period into a condensed season reducing GVP by ~$50 million.
TRF project (2013-037) addresses the immediate aspects of the WTO conditions, required by 31 March 2014. Industry groups, while cognizant of the need to address the issue of whale
entanglements are reluctant to proceed with the introduction of gear modifications without a clear scientific rationale behind their testing.
Project 2013-037 is a preliminary study and with its initiations after the 2013 humpback migration has begun, detailed gear testing and migration information was not possible. However it is planned to identify a number of viable mitigation options that are worthy of detailed evaluation in 2014. This project extends on Project 2013-037 addresses the longer term (2014-2015) DE conditions, which would enable year-round market access.

Objectives

1. Determine and implement appropriate gear modifications and management changes to reduce entanglements with migrating humpback whales
2. Produce fine-spatial and temporal information on whale migrations along the west coast of Western Australia necessary for a tailored spatio-temporal closures and/or areas for gear modifications.
3. Provide clear scientific methods behind the testing of selected gear modifications to reduce whale entanglements
4. Incorporate any new practices that may reduce entanglements with migrating whales in the CoP for the fishery and ensure its extension and adoption

Final report

ISBN: 978-1-921258-43-5
Authors: J How D Coughran M Double K Rushworth B Hebiton J Smith J Harrison M. Taylor D Paton G McPherson C McPherson A Recalde Salas C Salgado-Kent and S de Lestang
Final Report • 2020-03-01 • 5.85 MB
2014-004-DLD.pdf

Summary

This project provided a robust assessment that gear modifications introduced into the WCRLMF and octopus fisheries have reduced the number of reported entanglements. The management arrangements around the implementation of these modifications are appropriate in light on the new spatial and temporal information on the migratory behaviours of humpback whales off the west Australian coast. Therefore, it is recommended that the current management arrangements that are in place to reduce whale entanglements remain. It should be noted however, that while gear modifications have been effective, the whale population off the west Australian coast is predicated to continue to increase. As a result, entanglements may increase in the future as a result of this population increase, and additional research may be required to assess possible additional gear modifications or management arrangements. 
Industry
PROJECT NUMBER • 2016-260
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Assess causes and implications of anomalous low lobster catch rates in the shallow water areas near the centre of the Western Rock Lobster fishery

Current and former West Coast Rock Lobster Managed Fishery (WCRLMF) fishers have anecdotally observed a trend of low catch rates since the 1990’s in the near-shore shallow water areas (<8 m) near the centre of the fishery (Dongara-Leeman). Since the atypically low puerulus counts of...
ORGANISATION:
University of Western Australia (UWA)
Environment
PROJECT NUMBER • 2009-019
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Evaluating the potential use of change-in-ratio and index removal techniques for determining harvest rates and efficiency increases in the Western Rock Lobster Fishery

This project developed and explored methodology intended to enable the production of more reliable estimates of fishing efficiency increases and harvest rate, such that these estimates might be available for use by fisheries scientists, thereby improving the quality of the management decisions...
ORGANISATION:
Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) WA
Industry
PROJECT NUMBER • 2000-252
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Rock Lobster Post Harvest Subprogram: optimising water quality in rock lobster post-harvest processes

Rock lobsters can be exposed to poor water quality during all stages of handling and holding prior to going to market. Poor water quality reduces the time a lobster can be held alive and how many animals can be held in a system and thus may reduce profit. The quality of water can be assessed using...
ORGANISATION:
University of Tasmania (UTAS)
Industry
PROJECT NUMBER • 1998-354
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Electronic cooking end point determination and the effectiveness of alternative cooking methods for Crustacea

A prawn cooking meter and self-centring thermocouple clip has been successfully developed for monitoring the cooking of prawns. This cooking meter provides a much needed control tool for ensuring reliable and consistent quality required of modern quality assurance programs. The design of the prawn...
ORGANISATION:
Department of Primary Industries (QLD)
Industry
PROJECT NUMBER • 2008-910
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Seafood CRC: automation of western rocklobster processing

Automation of processing is widespread in many food production industries. Currently, labour costs in the Western Rocklobster industry are high and availability of labour is extremely poor. This is especially problematic given the processing of Western Rocklobsters is a highly manual process....
ORGANISATION:
Western Australian Fishing Industry Council Inc (WAFIC)
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