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Review Of The Exploitation Of Marine Resources Of The Australian Indian Ocean Territories: The Implications Of Biogeographic Isolation For Tropical Island Fisheries, Matthew Hourston

Fisheries Research Reports

The small islands of the Indian Ocean Territories are isolated reefs in an expanse of open ocean of abyssal depth. The majority of marine species that live on their reefs and lagoons have settled there from remote locations. Colonising individuals are presumed to have come to the island as the result of unusual weather and current conditions and form populations that are, necessarily, largely self-sustaining. The isolated populations that make up many of the fish and invertebrate stocks at the Cocos (Keeling) and Christmas Islands rely almost exclusively on larvae returning to their home reef to settle, grow and ultimately …

Coastal And Marine Resource Condition Monitoring – Scoping Project: Final Nrm Report – Project 073007, Brett A. Human

Fisheries Research Reports

The marine and coastal environment of the Pilbara and Kimberley region in north-western Western Australia contains many assets, including remote and near pristine habitats, unique habitats within Australia, unique fauna and flora; as well as assets of value to commercial and industrial ventures; and for recreational human usage. However, there is a lack of monitoring in the Pilbara and Kimberley marine and coastal environments. This is in large part due to the remoteness of the area, making access difficult, and consequently making monitoring programs expensive to run in the region.

Actions To Implement And Complement The National System For The Prevention And Management Of Introduced Marine Pests In Western Australia, Fred E. Wells, Justin I. Mcdonald

Fisheries Research Reports

Introduced marine pests are regarded as one of the critical environmental issues worldwide which can damage the marine environment, including that of Western Australia. Most introduced species cause no apparent harm. A small minority of introduced species become pests, but these few can cause substantial economic and ecological damage.

Development Towards Commercialization Of Marine Fish Larvae Feeds – Microdiets: Final Frdc Report - Project 2004/258, Sagiv Kolkovski, John Curnow, Justin King

Fisheries Research Reports

The project specifically focused on developing formulated diets for marine fish larvae, specifically targeting more physical aspects of microdiets such as feeding methods, feed availability and particle recognition. A commercially ready microdiet formulation was developed that achieved better ingestion, digestion and survival for yellowtail kingfish than other commercially available diets. Two manufacturers of aquaculture feeds showed interested in the formulations, however neither of the companies have started producing the diet commercially.

Coastal And Marine Resource Condition Monitoring – Scoping Project, Brett A. Human

Fisheries Research Reports

This pilot study investigated potential resource condition indicators, remote sensing, and ground truthing methodologies, for their use in long term monitoring of mangroves and intertidal mudflats in the Pilbara and Kimberley.

Wa Native Fish Strategy: Freshwater Fish Distribution Database And Website: Prepared For The Natural Resource Management (Nrm) Office – Nrm Project No. 063059, Roy Melville-Smith, Renae Larsen, Martin De Graaf, Craig Lawrence

Fisheries Research Reports

No abstract provided.

The Efficacy Of Sanctuary Areas For The Management Of Fish Stocks And Biodiversity In Wa Waters, James W. Penn, Warrick J. Fletcher

Fisheries Research Reports

Debate concerning the relative benefits of marine protected areas (MPAs) for the management of marine resources can often reflect unrecognized differences in the scope, scale and definitions of the objectives being sought by various Government or community bodies. There can also be different opinions on the level of protection required for an area to be considered an ‘MPA’ and functional definitions for both the biological diversity and ecosystems within these areas are often lacking. This paper seeks to outline the relative efficiency and effectiveness of MPAs, especially no-take sanctuary areas, compared to other strategies currently employed to help achieve the …

The Effect Of Western Rock Lobster Fishing On The Deepwater Ecosystems Of The West Coast Of Western Australia, Lynda Bellchambers Dr

Fisheries Research Reports

Objectives 1. To identify gradients in the density/size distribution of western rock lobster to enable selection of representative areas. 2. To assess the catchability of western rock lobster and its relationship with population abundance and size structure. 3. To identify the relationship between the deep-water habitat and the density/size distribution of western rock lobster to enable a preliminary evaluation of the impact of lobster biomass removal in the deep-water.

Codium Fragile Ssp. Fragile (Suringar) Hariot Summary Document, Samantha D. Bridgwood

Fisheries Research Reports

Codium fragile ssp. fragile is a large branching green alga which typically grows between 15 to 60 cm tall but can attain almost 1 m in length and weigh up to 3.5 kg. In wave exposed areas the C. fragile ssp. fragile plants tends to be shorter as they undergo more frequent fragmentation (D’Amours & Scheibling 2007).

A Community-Based Monitoring Program For Introduced Marine Pests, Samantha D. Bridgwood, Justin I. Mcdonald

Fisheries Research Reports

No abstract provided.

The Volunteer Fisheries Liaison Officer (Vflo) Program: An Analysis Of Recreational Fishing Data From 1995 - 2007, Claire B. Smallwood, Adrian Thomson, David Harris, Danielle Johnston

Fisheries Research Reports

The aim of this report was to explore the data collected by VFLOs from 1995 - 2007 in each of the state’s four marine bioregions. During this period, volunteers undertook >2,000 days of activities, the majority of which were educational displays at events such as boat shows and patrols in coastal, marine and estuarine environs. Patrols focused on interviews with recreational anglers to provide information about sustainable fishing and collect data on catch and effort.

Hull Camera: Preliminary Design And Testing Of Its Use For Assessing Biofouling On Small (<12 M) Recreational Vessels, Samantha D. Bridgwood

Fisheries Research Reports

No abstract provided.

Fisheries Research Report No. 197 - Coastal And Marine Resource Condition Monitoring - Scoping Project, Brett A. Human, Justin I. Mcdonald

Fisheries Research Reports

Final NRM Report – Project 073007

Part 1– Knowledge review and gap analysis: Resource condition monitoring in the Pilbara and Kimberley regions of Western Australia

This report details extensive literature searches for both research and monitoring programs that have been undertaken in the marine and coastal environments of the Pilbara and Kimberley region of northern Western Australia. The Pilbara and Kimberley region is remote and difficult to access, resulting in very little monitoring effort of the marine and coastal environments in that region.

We currently know very little of the condition of marine and coastal natural resources in the Pilbara …

Fisheries Research Report No. 195 - Compliance Program Evaluation And Optimisation In Commercial And Recreational Western Australian Fisheries, Timothy J. Green, John P. Mckinlay

Fisheries Research Reports

Final FRDC Report – Project Number 2001/069

Objectives:

1. To undertake data collection in order to measure the level of compliance and enforcement across the range of input and output managed fisheries in Western Australia, with a view to optimising the efficiency and effectiveness of the overall compliance program.

2. In conjunction with representatives from national fisheries compliance groups, to develop national standards for the collection and reporting of fishery-specific enforcement activity levels and compliance rates.

3. To determine how levels of enforcement and compliance vary spatially and temporally, including an examination of how the level and type of enforcement …

Fisheries Research Report No.196 - Management Of Bioeroding Sponges In Wild Stocks Of Pinctada Maxima In Western Australia, Sabine Daume, Jane Fromont, Anthony M. Hart

Fisheries Research Reports

Final FRDC Report – Project 2005/074

The Western Australian fishery is the only remaining significant fishery for pearl oysters in the world and comprises most of the exported pearl product of Australia, currently worth around $125 million annually. The majority of pearl shells used to culture pearls come from the pearling beds in the inshore waters near Broome. The fishery for pearl oysters preferentially targets smaller ‘culture’ shell (4-5 years age class, 120mm - 160mm shell length) that are more suitable for growing pearls, leaving larger MOP oysters (6+ age class, 175mm+) on the fishing grounds.

Silver-lipped pearl oysters (Pinctada …

Fisheries Research Report No. 194 - Conceptual Models For Ecosystem Based Fisheries Management (Ebfm) In Western Australia, Sarah J. Metcalf, D J. Gaughan, Jennifer Shaw

Fisheries Research Reports

The Department of Fisheries, Western Australia is currently developing a framework to assess the most appropriate methodologies for the implementation of Ecosystem Based Fisheries Management (EBFM) in Western Australia. The implementation of EBFM can be considered as an operational extension of Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD), the principles of which were adopted by Western Australia for application in the management of fisheries in 2002. EBFM aims to assess and manage ecological impacts as well as social and economic outcomes related to fish and fisheries at a regional level. The degree to which EBFM will be implemented in terms of activities or …

Fisheries Research Report No. 186 - A Preliminary Investigation Of The Potential Impacts Of The Proposed Kwinana Quay Development On The Commercially And Recreationally Important Fish And Crab Species In Cockburn Sound, C. Wakefield, Danielle Johnston, D C. Harris, Paul Lewis

Fisheries Research Reports

Prepared for Fremantle Ports

Cockburn Sound is the largest of the very few protected marine embayments along the lower west coast of Western Australia. It has been recognised as playing an integral role in the life history strategies of many marine species, including the highly valued snapper Pagrus auratus and blue swimmer crab Portunus pelagicus. Currently, the adult stocks of snapper in the West Coast Bioregion and blue swimmer crabs in Cockburn Sound are at depleted levels, most likely a result of high fishing pressure and below average recruitment in recent years for both species.

Due to increasing shipping operations …

Fisheries Research Report No. 193 - Investigating Reproductive Biology Issues Relevant To Managing The Western Rock Lobster Broodstock, Roy Melville-Smith, Simon De Lestang, N Beale, D Groth, A Thompson

Fisheries Research Reports

Final FRDC Report – Project 2003/005

Objectives:

1. To investigate the implications of the setose and maximum size rules.

2. To undertake preliminary investigations into the implications of egg diameters being significantly smaller at the Abrolhos Islands than at the coast.

3. To quantify the extent of the breeding grounds, so as to weight the overall egg production index for the stock by the contribution of the management zones.

Increases in efficiency due to modern electronic equipment, improved fishing vessels and knowledge about the grounds and lobster behaviour, have all led to western rock lobster fishers becoming more efficient at …

Fisheries Research Report No.157 - The Western Rock Lobster Fishery 2003/2004 And 2004/2005, Simon De Lestang, E H. Barker

Fisheries Research Reports

The 2003/2004 season produced the second highest catch recorded to date (13,684 tonnes), up markedly on the previous season’s catch of 11,415 t. Nominal effort in 2003/2004 (10,180,444 pot lifts) did not vary by nearly as much as did the catch, with total pot lifts declining only slightly (<1%) on the previous season. Season 2004/2005 produced a catch of 12, 236 tonnes, down on the previous season’s catch of 13,684 t. Similar to the catch, total nominal effort in 2004/2005 (9,789,671 pot lifts) also declined fairly substantially (4%) on the previous season. Recreational catches for the above two seasons were also down on their respective previous seasons by 52 and 11% each.

Puerulus settlement coast wide during 2003/2004 was below average, especially towards the southern and northern extremes of the fishery (Port Gregory and Jurien Bay south). This was also the case during the following season (2004/2005), although the poor settlement was more evenly spread across the entire fishery. Catch predictions from these …

Fisheries Research Report No. 174 - Spatial Scales Of Exploitation Among Populatons Of Demersal Scalefish : Implications For Management. Part 2: Stock Structure And Biology Of Two Indicator Species, West Australian Dhufish (Glaucosoma Hebraicum) And Pink Snapper (Pagrus Auratus) In The West Coast Bioregion, Department Of Fisheries, Western Australia

Fisheries Research Reports

Final FRDC Report - Project 2003/052

EDITORS: R. Lenanton, J. StJohn, I. Keay, C. Wakefield, G. Jackson, B. Wise and D. Gaughan

West Australian dhufish is endemic to shelf waters of south-western Western Australia (WA). In contrast, snapper (known as “pink snapper” in WA) has a continuous distribution around the southern coastline of mainland Australia and in New Zealand. Dhufish and snapper are the two most important exploited demersal scalefish species in the West Coast Bioregion (WCB) of WA, which extends from Kalbarri (27°S) to Augusta (35°S). This study examined regional variation in the biology of the two species, their …

Fisheries Research Report No. 191 - Maximising Survival Of Released Undersize West Coast Reef Fish, Rodney C J Lenanton, Jill St John, Brent S. Wise, Ian S. Keay, D J. Gaughan

Fisheries Research Reports

Final FRDC Report – Project 2000/194

In Australia, most fishery managers regulate the catch of recreational fishes using size and bag limits. The effectiveness of these regulations depends on the fish surviving capture and then release back into the water. Effective management of fishing using size or bag limits therefore requires an understanding of the rates of mortality of released fish and what factors are causing mortality so that these might be alleviated. The rates and likely causes of mortality of released WA dhufish (Glaucosoma hebraicum) and snapper (Pagrus auratus), breaksea cod (Epinephelides armatus) and baldchin groper (Choerodon rubescens) off …

Fisheries Research Report No. 184 - Macroscopic And Microscopic Description Of Snapper (Pagrus Auratus) Gonads From Shark Bay, Western Australia, Michael C. Mackie, Gary Jackson, Nadia E. Tapp, Jeffrey V. Norriss, Adrian Thomson

Fisheries Research Reports

Since 1997, research on snapper (Pagrus auratus, Sparidae) in the inner gulfs of Shark Bay has focussed on providing biological information required for the management of the regionally important recreational fishery. A major component of this research has been a comprehensive investigation of snapper reproductive biology to determine size and age at maturity, the timing of the spawning season and to estimate batch fecundity. This research has necessitated a review of the macroscopic staging system used for P. auratus in Western Australian waters and the development of a more detailed microscopic system to allow accurate analyses of histological material. Based …

Fisheries Research Report No. 192 - Determination Of A Cost Effective Methodology For Ongoing Age Monitoring Needed For The Management Of Scalefish Fisheries In Western Australia, Montgomery Craine, Ben Rome, Peter Stephenson, Brent S. Wise, D J. Gaughan, R Lenanton, Richard A. Steckis

Fisheries Research Reports

Final FRDC Report – Project 2004/042

Objectives

1. Determine for the 20 major WA scalefish species (4 - 5 in each bioregion) the relative accuracy of structures used to estimate age (e.g. Sectioned/whole otoliths, lengths, otolith weight, other otolith dimensions or some combination of these).

2. For each stock, examine the relative impact on the calculated age-compositions and their effect on model outputs and conclusions from varying (i) the method of ageing used (only where this is possible from available data) (ii) the number of individuals used in the samples (iii) the spatial distribution of the samples used (iv) if …

Fisheries Research Report No. 189 - Results Of A 2007 Survey Of The Swan River Region For Four Introduced Marine Species, Justin I. Mcdonald, Fred E. Wells

Fisheries Research Reports

A survey of the Swan River region for four non-indigenous marine species was conducted in 2007: the European shore crab Carcinus maenas, the Asian bag mussel Musculista senhousia, the European fan worm Sabella spallanzanii, and the scallop Scaeochlamys livida. The first three of these species are global in their distribution and on the ‘top-ten world’s worst invaders listing; the last species is introduced from the eastern states of Australia.

In this survey divers on SCUBA examined 43 sites for each of the listed species. Despite previous records of Carcinus maenas and Musculista senhousia in this region …

Fisheries Research Report No. 190 - Esd Reporting And Assessment Subprogram: Strategic Planning, Project Management And Adoption - Stage 2, R Fletcher

Fisheries Research Reports

Final FRDC Report – Project Number 2004/006

The second stage of the operation of the ESD Subprogram was successful, but compared to the focus during the first subprogram period, mostly in a consolidation manner rather than from the generation of significant new tools. This was necessary because it takes time to adopt and integrate significant changes to the methods of operation of agencies and industries. The policies must be there before any real activity can occur and we found that for the broader focused, cross fishery/cross sector applications of the framework, agencies were not in a position for much of …

Fisheries Research Report No. 187 - Management And Monitoring Of Fish Spawning Aggregations Within The West Coast Bioregion Of Western Australia, Michael C. Mackie

Fisheries Research Reports

Final FRDC Report – Project Number 2004/051

Objectives

1. To identify species that aggregate to spawn within the WCB and to describe (e.g. location, size, timing, nature) the aggregations of key demersal species such as pink snapper and dhufish.

2. To investigate the biology, ecology and fishery for Samson fish with emphasis on the sports fishery targeting deep water spawning aggregations west of Rottnest Island.

3. To establish methods and protocols for monitoring fish aggregations within the WCB.

4. To review relevant information and provide advice on the impact of aggregation fishing and the management of aggregating fish species in …

Fisheries Research Report No. 188 - Results Of The 2007 Survey Of The Albany Marine Area For Introduced Marine Species, Justin I. Mcdonald, Fred E. Wells, Michael J. Travers

Fisheries Research Reports

A survey of the Albany marine area (King George Sound, Princess Royal Harbour and Oyster Harbour) for introduced marine pest species was conducted in 2007. This survey was trialling the new system of monitoring for introduced marine pests developed by the National Introduced Marine Pests Coordination Group (NIMPCG). This study represents one of the first trials of this system (the first trial commenced in South Australia is still ongoing). In this survey fifty-two of the fifty-five potential pest species were targeted. Three species were excluded on the basis of salinity and/or temperature tolerances being exceeded. A wide variety of sampling …

Fisheries Research Report No. 183 - Development Of A Long-Term Program To Monitor Coastal Communities Within The Swan Region, Lynda M. Bellchambers

Fisheries Research Reports

Marine benthic communities along the metropolitan coast of Western Australia are varied and unique. The southward flowing Leeuwin Current brings warm water and tropical recruits whilst the cooler counter current, the Capes Current, brings the temperate recruits. The result is a mosaic of tropical species intermingled with the dominant temperate species. These areas sustain varied fish and invertebrate communities making this coast a highly desirable location for recreational and commercial use. Management strategies are in place that attempt to maintain the sustainability of this area including various fishery restrictions and the implementation of areas zoned as sanctuary zones (no-take). However, …

Fisheries Research Report No. 185 - Performance Indicators, Biological Reference Points And Decision Rules For Western Australian Abalone Fisheries (Haliotis Sp.): (1) Standardised Catch Per Unit Effort, Anthony M. Hart, Frank Fabris, Nick Caputi

Fisheries Research Reports

This report summarises the performance indicators (PIs) and biological reference points (BRPs) developed from standardised catch per unit effort (SCPUE) models of the Western Australian abalone fisheries. It also outlines analysis and consultation processes used to construct these indicators. Other PIs, such as those relating to harvest rate and recruitment, will be developed when more fishery independent data becomes available.

A comprehensive 7-step process was utilised to develop PIs.

1) The Abalone Management and Advisory Committee (AbMac) considered options and advised that in the short-term, catch and effort trends be reviewed with other potential indicators to be considered at a …

Fisheries Research Report No. 182 - A Likelihood Analysis Of Non-Indigenous Marine Species Introduction To Fifteen Ports In Western Australia, Justin I. Mcdonald

Fisheries Research Reports

As an island continent, Australia is heavily dependent upon maritime transport with over 95% of its imports and exports transported by ship (Australian State of the Environment Committee, 2001). With about one third of Australia’s coastline, Western Australia ranks fourth of the six states and territory in the number of known non-indigenous marine species.

In this study fifteen ports in Western Australia were assessed on the potential for non-indigenous marine species to become introduced through ballast water and biofouling. The overall vesselmediated incursion risk to Western Australian ports was calculated by summing the relative incursion threat posed by visits to …