Dynamics of large sessile seabed fauna, important for structural fisheries habitat and biodiversity of marine ecosystems – and use of these habitats by key finfish species. (original) (raw)

2004, Final report to the Fisheries Research & Development Corporation. CSIRO Marine Research. Pp. 304 (ISBN 1 876996 77 3).

This project has delivered outputs in relation to each objective that have contributed to a high priority area for research identified previously by the FRDC (i.e. habitat dynamics and processes), and will contribute to a range of outcomes as they are adopted by management, industry and the wider community. The project’s results have contributed to increased understanding of the nature and importance of deeper water habitats, provided fishery-independent tools for monitoring tropical finfish resources that have little or no environmental impact, and will be useful for planning management strategies for sustainable fisheries, planning habitat protection areas, refuges, and marine protected areas, and consideration of the feasibility of habitat restoration activities. The results will be used in a “trawl scenario-model” that enables managers to examine alternative management strategies that have less impact on habitat, preserve critical habitat in refuges, reduce conflict between commercial extractive activities and conservation needs, and may lead to increased productivity among commercial species. These results and approaches have become increasingly important as fisheries, particularly tropical trawl fisheries, respond to and implement changes to meet the sustainability and ecological assessment requirements of contemporary legislation. For example, the results are now being taken up in developing ecological risk assessments for Commonwealth and Queensland fisheries, and for Environmental Strategic Assessments. The scope and importance of these outcomes will increase as other new and ongoing projects deliver additional information needed for fisheries sustainability evaluations. The ultimate outcomes of these activities are ecologically sustainable fisheries and an objective balance between commercial fishing and national biodiversity conservation goals.