Inshore high profile fisheries need EMS to build the confidence of their communities to ensure that the supply of fish to the public is maintained. An EMS is also needed for the Marine Aquarium Fishery (MAF) to minimise any future loss of access by ensuring its current practices are consistent with community expectations. Through the fishery’s ESD process, this project also enables Department of Environment and Heritage’s (DEH) assessment outcomes to be incorporated into the EMS.

The South Coast Estuarine Fishery (SCEF) is also in danger of losing access either through resource reallocation to other sectors or the marine planning process unless it proactively engages with community groups to improve its perception. This fishery has no code of practice and, as a non-export fishery, is unlikely to undergo any Government driven environmental risk assessment process in the near future. This industry driven project is necessary to enable the long and sustainable history of the fishery to be documented and profiled prior to entering into the marine planning process.

There is an equal need to evaluate the effectiveness of EMS as a tool to improve public perception. These results would be integral to WAFIC promoting the up take of EMS by other fisheries in future.

In the pearling industry, the template produced as a result of the National Seafood EMS Pilot Project is now available for application across WA’s pearling industry. This project will allow the whole industry to demonstrate its EMS credentials (rather than a component of the industry) to ensure there is an ongoing and continuous improvement process.

With growing interest amongst other WA fisheries to develop EMS there is a need to educate the wider industry on the associated costs, benefits and options of EMS.

The potential for reef line fishing to significantly affect the productivity of targeted species or impact on other reef species is poorly understood. Understanding the distribution, intensity, and effects of reef line fishing will be essential for successful management of both fishing and other recreational and commercial activities in the GBR region, as well as for conservation of the GBR ecosystem. Further, there is an immediate need for careful investigation of potential management strategies and their impacts on economic, social and biological and conservation values of the GBR and its use.

Since 1993, the commercial Reef Line Fishery has been undergoing some change as a result of the development of lucrative export markets for live reef fish for consumption. The value added to the commercial catch as a result of high market values for live fish (landing prices for live coral trout peaked in August 1996 at $45/kg) has the potential to increase incentives for previously inactive endorsements (of which there are approximately 1300-1400) to be activated in the line fishery, with a resultant increase in effective commercial fishing effort. An indirect indicator that this may be happening already is a 2-3 fold increase in the market value of reef line endorsements over the past 12-18 months, the acquisition of second and third vessels by some operators, and purchases of large, purpose built or re-fitted vessels for the live fish sector of the fishery. There is also considerable potential for increased recreational fishing pressure simply as a result of population growth and increased tourism. These factors, combined with the dearth of historical information about the fishery or its main target species present great problems for planning appropriate management strategies of the fishery and the Great Barrier reef Marine Park.

In "Research Needs and Priorities" (1996), the QFMA flagged key topics for research related to the Reef Line Fishery which included: Appraise management measures for the sustainable use of reef fish; Determine an effective mix of measure for reef fish management planning, including fishery dependent and independent monitoring; Determination of the size of stocks of common coral trout; Determination of the proportion of blue-spot trout in the reef line catch; and Assess regional catch rates of red-throat sweetlip. The ELF Project will produce results of direct relevance to these and other needs, and in so doing will contribute greatly to management-relevant information in a relatively short period (3-5 years).

Lack of knowledge by community has contributed to poor perception of industry and negative community attitudes. Teachers are ill-informed about industry’s efforts to operate in a sustainable manner; once informed-they incorporate better knowledge into their teaching program. The long-term benefits for industry with a better informed community are considerable.
The SIPS-Tasmanian-Pilot indicated teachers have difficulty accessing information about the marine environment, sustainable fishing/marine farm practices, and post-harvest sector. Developing/delivering this information within a metropolitan context is a key challenge of this program. Fishermen/Farmers and the post harvest sector are seeking avenues to engage with their local community to secure their social licence to operate - this program gives them a community a voice and a connection with the next generation. An informed community can actively engage in debate around issues affecting industry and the seafood supply - particularly at point-of-sale. Delivering this information to schoolchildren and teachers in a metropolitan context is key.
With the assistance and support of key groups such as the Sydney Fish Market, Master Fish Merchants of Australia, and NSW Fishermens’ Cooperative Association, and our in-house experience of working with the NSW Department of Education, and with various state-based teachers associations on our 'Our Valuable Estuaries' projects - OceanWatch Australia has the ability, determination and support of industry, to make this project succeed.

The change in focus of fisheries management towards ecosystem-based management (Pitcher 2001) is a worldwide trend. Within Australia it is particularly evident in the requirements of the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act, and in the development of regional marine plans (RMPs) under Australia’s Oceans Policy. The former requires strategic assessment of the ecological impacts of fishing, including assessing trophic impacts. The latter seeks to integrate management of entire regions through an ecosystem approach that considers impacts from all uses of the marine environment (including impacts of other users on fishery ecosystems). The southeast region is the first to be evaluated under Oceans Policy.

Even without the “stick” of EPBC and RMP, there are good reasons to attempt to synthesize current data and understanding of the SEF ecosystem, and to model the impacts of and on the fishery. Specific questions that need addressing include:
·What changes in the fish community have taken place in the past, and what are the consequences for current fishery production and value?
·What further changes might be expected under planned reduction or elimination of discarding in the SET?
·What are the implications for the fishery of current rapid recovery in seal populations?
·What are the reasons for and impacts of year-to-year variability in the SEF ecosystem (including regional circulation and primary productivity) on distribution and catches of quota species?

This study will provide a set of tools to explore answers to these questions.