There is an increasing need to develop appropriate management in the Commonwealth Small Pelagic Fishery (SPF). Past spikes in the jack mackerel fishery, more recent increases in catches of redbait in Zone A of the SPF and predicted climate change impacts pose a significant threat to the ecosystem structure and function particularly in this region but more broadly throughout the whole SPF, emphasizing our need to understand the role of small pelagics in the southern Australian ecosystem.

The SPF Management Advisory Committee identified several priorities for research such as determination of stock structure and size, the role of the species in the system, harvest strategies in response to the Ministerial Direction 2005, and interactions with TEP species and bycatch. COMFRAB have called for research that will identify possible spatial management arrangements that best suit the spatial distribution of the species.

Our proposal addresses the issue of the role of small pelagics in the southern Australian ecosystem, and the potential impacts, under various types of ecosystem controls and environmental and management influences. We will also recommend an approach to developing purpose-built models to evaluate derived scenarios of management, fishery interactions and potential climate change impacts.