The NSW oyster industry and the Australian shellfish industry at large can ill afford further food poisoning episodes either from seage borne viral contamination or potential deaths from organisms such vibro vulnificus. Other diseases such as hepatitis A and salmonellaosis can also pose a continuing underlying risk to growers and consumers of shellfish. As urban development continues along the NSW coast there is also a concomitant increase in proposals for sewage treatment plants to discharge treated effluent into rivers and clear STP performance standards, guidelines and recommendations from a shellfish farming perspective are needed.

The development of a broader understanding of the limitations of purification and the possible development of technology to enhance and render the current purification process a more active technique, which does more than just rely on the shellfish to "self clean" would make an important contribution to public health as well as the the image, confidence and ultimate financial well being of the industry.

Current purification techniques alone are now seen to be incomplete in ensuring that oysters are safe for human consumption, especially in regard to viral infection. It is now recognised that the current UV purification process has to be linked to water quality monitoring at the time of harvest and monitoring at the time of harvest and monitoring of meat samples. However, there has been considerable work done around the world related to R&D in purification technology since the legislation was first introduced in NSW. A number of purification related R&D project proposals have been referred to the NSW Oyster Research Advisory Committee for support for funding by the FRDC. Although the NSW Shellfish Quality Assurance Committee does not believe that there is likely to be a "one step cure all", in purification technology, an appraisal of the current state of play, the practical limitations of purification and recommendations on areas worth pursuing in shellfish purification technology development by a suitably qualified consultant is timely if not overdue. The form of this investigation would be a desk top review and such a review has potential application for emerging shellfish farming industries in other states. This review was identified as one of the urgent priorities in the recently completed NSW Oyster Industry R&D Strategic Plan.

It is recognised by industry that the yield currently obtained from the western rock lobster fishery cannot be enhanced by increasing exploitation without also reducing the breeding stock to an unacceptable level. The value of the fishery can only be increased by reducing costs or by increasing the value of the catch. Modelling of the fishery is required to investigate the potential improvement in value that might be obtained from an optimal set of management controls designed to improve market prices through controlling the supply of lobsters to the market both within and among fishing seasons. The ability to predict future catches based on puerulus settlement indices offers the rock lobster industry in Western Australia a unique opportunity to improve prices by varying the exploitation rate between seasons in order to more closely match market demand.

A modelling project to address this need will require the development of a more statistically sound model of the lobster fishery than was provided by the descriptive model developed by Walters et al. (1993). This will benefit the participants in the fishery by providing an understanding of the uncertainties associated with model predictions, and the validity of the new model when applied to different sectors of the fishery. The earlier model used information from only a small subset of the data available from the fishery, and the new model will utilise far more of the available data, thus providing a more robust description of the rock lobster fishery.

Development of the proposed model is seen as an essential and strategic element of the research programme for this fishery.

The Patagonian toothfish fishery is expanding worldwide and it may play a pivotal role in the development of an Australian fishing industry in the Southern Ocean. The recommended TAC for toothfish in other Southern Ocean regions was revised upwards by the 1996 CCAMLR scientific committee. For example, in the CCAMLR area 58.5.2 (primarily the AFZ around Heard and McDonald Islands) a TAC of 3800 metric tonnes of toothfish was set. As a result considerable national and international interest in the fishery is expected.

Given the conservation value of Macquarie Island it is expected that operation of the fishery will be closely scrutinised -- the scrutiny is already clear at the national ( MACSAG, AFMA, DPIE and conservation groups) level. Development of the Macquarie Island fishery provides a great opportunity as a demonstration project to illustrate that fishery development can be achieved while protecting conservation values -- a demonstration of Ecologically Sustainable Development in action. Furthermore, much of what will be learnt will also be relevant to the emerging Heard Island toothfish fishery.

To date little research has been done to establish the basic biological parameters of the toothfish necessary to develop sound management policies. As recognised by both the Macquarie Island Fish Stock Assessment Group and the Sub-Antarctic Ecosystem Assessment Group there is a real need to develop a comprehensive program of research which not only addresses basic biological parameters such as age and stock structure, but also examines the distribution and abundance of this species so that effective management of the fishery can proceed. As the Macquarie Island area is likely to be sensitive to possible ecosystem changes brought about by a developing fishery, there is also a need to understand where toothfish 'fit into' the broader offshore Macquarie Island ecosystem, and likely ecosystem effects.

The Patagonian toothfish fishery is expanding worldwide and it may play a pivotal role in the development of an Australian fishing industry in the Southern Ocean. The recommended TAC for toothfish in other Southern Ocean regions was revised upwards by the 1996 CCAMLR scientific committee. For example, in the CCAMLR area 58.5.2 (primarily the AFZ around Heard and McDonald Islands) a TAC of 3800 metric tonnes of toothfish was set. As a result considerable national and international interest in the fishery is expected.

Given the conservation value of Macquarie Island it is expected that operation of the fishery will be closely scrutinised -- the scrutiny is already clear at the national ( MACSAG, AFMA, DPIE and conservation groups) level. Development of the Macquarie Island fishery provides a great opportunity as a demonstration project to illustrate that fishery development can be achieved while protecting conservation values -- a demonstration of Ecologically Sustainable Development in action. Furthermore, much of what will be learnt will also be relevant to the emerging Heard Island toothfish fishery.

To date little research has been done to establish the basic biological parameters of the toothfish necessary to develop sound management policies. As recognised by both the Macquarie Island Fish Stock Assessment Group and the Sub-Antarctic Ecosystem Assessment Group there is a real need to develop a comprehensive program of research which not only addresses basic biological parameters such as age and stock structure, but also examines the distribution and abundance of this species so that effective management of the fishery can proceed. As the Macquarie Island area is likely to be sensitive to possible ecosystem changes brought about by a developing fishery, there is also a need to understand where toothfish 'fit into' the broader offshore Macquarie Island ecosystem, and likely ecosystem effects.

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).