ETBF Pilot Progect
In 2007, an AFMA commissioned cost benefit study and business case showed reduced costs if electronic monitoring technologies were adopted in several Commonwealth fisheries. However, there is considerable uncertainty regarding the extent to which onboard observer coverage can be replaced in the ETBF and the costs involved in intergrating electronic monitoring into AFMA management practices. This pilot project will collect suffiecient information to enable an in-depth cost benefit analysis of future monitoring options. It will resolve the uncertainty surrounding the utility of electronic monitoring technologies in the ETBF and the costs associated with integrating an electronic monitoring program within AFMA.

In addition to the time and cost savings from reduced onboard observer requirements, there are also potential efficiencies for both industry and AFMA from the use of electronic monitoring reporting. Some of these efficiencies include;
1. better understanding of fishing effort,
2. better understanding and management of fishing operations, and
3. increased data accuracy (resulting in more responsive fisheries management).

Pilbara Trawl Fishery Pilot Project
Monitoring of remote small vessel fisheries in Australia is often difficult and always costly. Travel costs, observer wages, and operational inefficiencies and restrictions of small vessels in accommodating on-board observers are all factors which act to restrict monitoring coverage while still incurring a relatively high cost to industry. With the a growing need for accurate catch and effort data and the high costs and operational restrictions of using human observers there is a subsequent need to find a cost-effective alternative that will not only improve coverage levels but also reduce costs.

Interest in artificial reefs is growing in Australia, with recently initiated programs in New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria. These have been mostly pilot projects using available basic designs and materials for research purposes, or the dumping of materials of opportunity (junk).

However, the progression to dedicated and effective fisheries enhancement programs using artificial reefs has proved difficult. While environmental impact assessment has been extremely costly and time consuming for some jurisdictions, the more fundamental problem of lack of demonstrably effective and appropriate reef designs remains.

In many countries the use of materials of opportunity is now discouraged or even banned, and many require all artificial reef modules to be purpose designed and built to prescribed engineering standards. Korea requires all new artificial reef modules to be tested and monitored for two years before government assessment determines whether they can be deployed in public waters.

At this time in Australia there are no standards or guidelines to assist in determining appropriate designs or materials for artificial reefs, and no agreed basic research and monitoring requirements to allow their effectiveness to be determined. Without these basic tools we run the risk of duplicating the years of trial and error, sub-optimal performance and possibly failure that plagued some countries, and drove others to introduce their present regulatory schemes.