The proportion of the catch taken by recreational fishers is large for some species. Surveys are becoming increasingly important for determining and monitoring resource allocation between the recreational and commercial sectors, as total allowable recreational catches (TARC) are being incorporated into harvest strategies and recreational catch and effort estimates are often a requirement of third-party certification processes (eg Marine Stewardship Council: MSC). There is no current information on total recreational fishing effort or landings for Victorian fisheries. This represents a key knowledge gap, and hence risk, for fisheries sustainability in the State.

Having recreational catch and effort information will enable more sophisticated population dynamic stock assessment models to be used for assessment purposes. This project will assist in providing information for ongoing stock assessment to address the following priorities: 1) Western Victorian Snapper Stock harvest strategy, 2) rebuilding of the Gippsland Lakes Black Bream stock, 3) Corner Inlet Management Plan, and 4) assessment of the Eastern Victorian Snapper stock.