Port Phillip Bay is an important and complex fishery that is utilised by both commercial and recreational sectors. Snapper and King George Whiting are key species taken by both the commercial and recreational sectors within the Bay, but there are many other shared stocks as well. As a result, there has been conflict between these fishers in Port Phillip Bay for a number of decades, but this has recently culminated in campaigns to ban all commercial net fishing in the region. Although loosely based on claims about the environmental impact of commercial fishing, there are also complex social drivers that underpin these campaigns.

Simply understanding the catch of these species by the two sectors does not portray the potential issues that need to be addressed for shared access to the fishery. Fisheries management has transitioned from a species-based to an ecosystem-based framework that requires the implementation of ecological risk assessments (ERAs) to fully understand the impact of the fishing activities on the target species as well as the broader environment. To date there has been no ERA of commercial and recreational fishing in the Bay, but the results of an ERA alone do not address the important social issues underpinning the conflict. Overall, there is a need to provide scientifically defensible information on all these issues, if fisheries management of Port Philip Bay is going to encompass shared access to its resources by the commercial and recreational sectors and other stakeholders.