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Revisiting biological parameters and information used in the assessment of Commonwealth fisheries: a reality check and work plan for future proofing

Much effort has been placed over the last couple of decades on the development of harvest strategies, stock assessments, risk assessments and the strategic use of ecosystem models to facilitate meeting the needs of the Commonwealth’s Harvest Strategy Policy. A focus on modelling to improve fisheries management has required effort towards method development. However, little effort has been made towards revisiting and updating the biological parameters that fundamentally underpin such modelling (e.g. growth rates, age and size at maturity, natural mortality rates, dietary information, mixing rates and stock structure) and the tools or methods used to derive them. As a result, most models now rely on parameters and community dietary data derived from information collected during the 1970s-1990s. Key components of the productivity of marine fish (growth, maturity, and recruitment) are expected to be undergoing directional changes under a changing climate and it is entirely possible that there have been changes in fundamental productivity parameters for some Australian stocks. The reliance of current assessments on what is likely to be out-of-date information leads to increased uncertainty and potentially poor management decisions. This investment will evaluate the current state of assessment of biological parameters and the impact of any potential change in the biological parameters used in assessments to understand the potential for fishery or environmental induced evolutionary change and what might need to be done to inform management decisions under such change.

Project date

16 Feb 2020-16 Aug 2021
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Principal investigator

Karen Evans

Research organisations

Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) Oceans and Atmosphere

Project funded by

Multiple industries
Aquaculture Wild catch fisheries

Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC)

The Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC) is a co-funded partnership between its two stakeholders, the Australian Government and the …
  • Location

    Australia

  • Organisation type

    Research funding body

Focus areas

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