The House of Representatives inquiry ‘Netting the benefits’ (November 2012) recommended that ‘the Australian Government continue to publish a consolidated stock report for all Australian fisheries with the consultation of State and Territory governments’. The Australian Government’s State of the Environment Report 2011 also identified that a ‘lack of a nationally integrated approach inhibits effective marine management’. In addition to the Australia’s domestic reporting responsibilities, national stock status reports are also required to inform the broader international community.

The inaugural SAFS reports (2012) demonstrated the value and impact of national reporting, providing an easy to access, consistent national picture of wild-capture fish stock sustainability. The SAFS reports 2014 would continue to provide consistent national comparisons, for an increased number of species.

To establish a strategic, longer-term plan and ensure the SAFS reports remain on-going it will be important to develop processes for self-sustainment. On-going support (personnel and funding) from all jurisdictions is critical to this. Some jurisdictions have already adopted aspects of the agreed national reporting framework, which will support improved alignment between jurisdictional reports and simplify production of future SAFS reports. The current proposal is critical to ensuring production of a high quality second edition. Throughout this project processes will be established for the self-sustainment of national fisheries status reporting.

There is also a need for national reporting on additional aspects of fisheries Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD). This was highlighted in the House of Representatives inquiry (2012) which supported the inclusion of detailed ecosystem sustainability issues in future national reports.

The existing research predicts that climate change will have both positive and negative impacts on reproduction, recruitment and distribution of biomass of Australia’s commercially important marine species. Many fishery stakeholders acknowledge that the issue of climate change should be a high priority issue for fisheries management. Current research highlights the potentially significant impacts of climate change on fisheries and fisheries management, but to date strategies for fisheries management to address climate change have been lacking. The current ability of fisheries management to cope with these changes is unknown and therefore must be assessed to test its resilience, ability to adapt and the changes that may be required. AFMA is a prime candidate for leading this assessment since it has substantive responsibility for those areas of the Australian fishing zone that are expected to be hot-spots for climate change effects, such as SE Australia, one of the fastest warming areas in the ocean. In addition, the issues of climate change are canvassed in draft government policies for fisheries and this project could form part of the response to those policy needs.

To-date no jurisdiction in Australia has assessed the resilience of its management system to these anticipated impacts and it is likely to break some new ground in what may need to be done for management systems to effectively adapt to climate change and the options that may be available. Engagement with and participation from key fishery stakeholders is essential for this project to be a success and to assist in any subsequent fisheries management change processes. Overall, this project has the potential to benefit the marine ecosystem and fisheries stakeholders with a vested interest in climate change adaptation, to increase the benefits and reduce the risks. While the production end of the supply chain is often the focus, this project will also consider the supply chain risks, following approaches developed in recent FRDC projects (Hobday et al. 2015; Fleming et al. 2014; Lim-Camacho et al. 2015; Plaganyi et al. 2014; van Putten et al. 2015)