Currently there are about 180 licensed silver perch growers in all states; however, only about a third of these are producing fish commercially. Although a small number of farms achieve high production rates, most farms are inefficient and not producing anywhere near their potential. Survival, growth and production rates are much lower, and FCR's higher than achievable with good husbandry and management. Fish are being lost from disease and poor water quality, and growth rates are perceived by some farmers to be "slow".

Consultation with industry has identified that research into winter diseases and health management is a high R&D priority.

Diseases, in particular those caused by infectious agents, are recognised as an important threat to the viability of finfish aquaculture. In 1996/97 a pilot monitoring program aimed at identifying diseases causing significant production losses in silver perch was conducted on a coastal zone farm in north-eastern NSW. Results suggested that growth rates were reduced by ecto-parasitic infestations and by adverse water quality conditions. More recently, in 1998 and 1999, there have been reports of serious disease problems that have caused significant losses on some silver perch farms. These have included regular outbreaks of fungal diseases during winter, particularly in the cooler, inland areas of eastern Australia. It appears that some, or most of these outbreaks are not just the result of poor husbandry. The fungal disease, winter saprolegniosis is a serious problem in the large channel catfish industry in the USA, and relatively new winter fungal diseases have been reported in freshwater fishes in other parts of the world. There is strong evidence of a similar, but currently undescribed winter fungal disease in silver perch. Clearly there is a need to describe the major diseases, including important emerging diseases, on silver perch farms and identify their causes. Cost-effective control and prevention measures can then be developed.

More broadly, as the industry matures, silver perch farmers are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of systematic, cost-effective measures aimed at reducing disease-related losses to acceptable levels. However, no such validated programs are currently available to the industry. To fill this vacuum, it is essential that "Health Management Programs" i.e. generic disease control and prevention programs, are developed, validated and extended to farmers. These programs can be modified to suit the needs of individual farms and integrated with routine management activities. On individual farms, the programs will comprise (a) broadly targeted measures based on established principles and aimed at general disease prevention, early detection and control, with (b) specifically targeted measures aimed at reducing losses caused by important diseases (e.g. winter diseases) occurring in the farm's geographic area.

The production capacity of silver perch (10 tonnes/ha/year), the established culture techniques, the large number of inefficient farms, and the ready availability of sites provide the basis for a dramatic increase in production of silver perch over the next 5 to 10 years. However, research to address the current disease problems is required to maximise the value of previous research and to enable the industry to realise its full potential.

Proposed salmon aquaculture expansion in Storm Bay has created the Tasmanian State Government (PA and EPA) need for a suite of research to be undertaken by CSIRO and IMAS to assist planning and regulation. Given the complexity of the Storm Bay research and implications for Salmon planning and regulation, and necessary community communication, there is a need for ‘Storm Bay Project’ governance and communication support as follows:

1) A Project Manager, to be engaged by FRDC will require a 0.5 FTE role (to be reviewed 6 and 12 months for adequacy and need), will coordinate Project Governance (relating to the IMAS and CSIRO research suite) and provide direct reporting to the Steering Committee, against the agreed work plan on progress, achievements or challenges. The Project Manager will chair the various sub-committees, and manage consultants and communication releases to develop and ensure integration of monitoring and research, delivery of outcomes, and public reporting. The PM will also be responsible for coordinating engagement between the steering committee and independent governance committee. An operational in-direct cost will be needed for computer, stationary, catering and transport costs for the function on the Project Manager.

2) Communication Advisory Sub-committee support as required
a) Consultant support is needed to create the Storm Bay Project communication strategy and communication products,

3) Community Reference Group Support as required
a) Support for an independent convener is requested to create a Community Reference Group that will provide community input into the Storm Bay Project communication strategy
b) A research evaluation of the Community Reference Group outputs is warranted to assess and improve community engagement and communication (Dr Alexander)

4) Tasmanian State Government see the need for the outputs of all 3-research projects to be independent externally reviewed and that the findings be-released into the public domain. Support for an external Independent Review Panel of the CSIRO and IMAS research suite outputs will be sought via a future project extension (proposal to be prepared by the Project Manager).

Crab is the largest single species recreational fishery in Western Australia, providing a quality recreational experience.
Commercially, Blue Swimmer Crabs are a readily available resource that can be sold in existing markets.
Previous recruitment overfishing coupled with a downturn in recruitment caused by changes in environmental conditions resulted in the closure of the fishery in 2007. As the fishery is due to reopen in December 2009 there is a need to discuss alternative management arrangements to prevent further closures, via management plans underpinned by elasticity and the ability to adapt to climatic perturbations.
From an industry perspective this project will emphasize the benefits of allowing fishermen flexibility in harvesting crabs to suit market conditions. The advent of new management arrangements would remove the inherent ‘rush to fish’, a shift towards a quota by numbers system will ultimately encourage fishers to retain larger heavier crabs, increasing the value of the catch by increasing the dollar value per kg, thus, maximising the economic yield of the fishery. Promoting the take of more mature crabs will allow a greater number of individuals to remain in the system and add to the standing and breeding stock of the fishery.
The proposed initiative will encourage the sustainable development of recreational and commercial fishing through fair allocation of resources between users to achieve optimum economic, ecological and social benefits from the use of those resources, sustainability through a triple bottom line approach.