Login | Request Account (DAF staff only)

Estimating the impacts of management changes on bycatch reduction and sustainability of high-risk bycatch species in the Queensland East Coast Otter Trawl fishery

View Altmetrics

Campbell, M. J., Courtney, A. J., McLennan, M. F., Wang, N. and Zhou, S. (2017) Estimating the impacts of management changes on bycatch reduction and sustainability of high-risk bycatch species in the Queensland East Coast Otter Trawl fishery. Project Report. FRDC.

[img]
Preview
PDF
8MB

Article Link: https://www.frdc.com.au/sites/default/files/produc...

Abstract

Researchers from the Queensland Government’s Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF) have assessed aspects of the environmental impacts of Australia’s largest trawl fishery, the Queensland East Coast Otter Trawl Fishery (QECOTF). A suite of management measures implemented in 2001 have resulted in a reduction in discards from a peak of 87,175 tonnes in 1997 to 25,271 in 2014, or 71%. This reduction was measured using quantitative methods based on catch, fishing effort and swept area. The risk posed to elasmobranchs from trawling operations south of the Great Barrier Marine Park was also assessed using a quantitative method known as Sustainability Assessment for Fishing Effects (SAFE). Of the 47 species assessed, one, the Piked Spurdog, was found to be at high risk. A further six species were found to be at medium risk, with the remainder at low risk. These findings satisfy environmental constraints placed on the QECOTF by the Federal Government, allowing fishers to access fishing grounds within the World Heritage-listed Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. Fishers are also able to continue accessing lucrative overseas markets, increasing the profitability of the fishery.

Item Type:Monograph (Project Report)
Corporate Creators:Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, Queensland
Projects:FRDC Project No. 2015-014
Business groups:Animal Science, Fisheries Queensland
Keywords:Final report Discards, elasmobranchs, post-trawl survival, Aptychotrema rostrata, Trygonoptera testacea, turtle excluder device, bycatch reduction device, TEDs, BRDs, ecological risk assessment, ERA, Post Harvest Mortality Modelling Fishing Gear Bycatch
Subjects:Aquaculture and Fisheries > Fisheries > Fishery resources
Aquaculture and Fisheries > Fisheries > Fishery conservation
Aquaculture and Fisheries > Fisheries > Fishery management. Fishery policy
Aquaculture and Fisheries > Fisheries > Fishery research
Aquaculture and Fisheries > Fisheries > Fishery for individual species
Live Archive:06 Jun 2023 00:18
Last Modified:06 Jun 2023 00:18

Repository Staff Only: item control page

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year

View more statistics