East Coast Otter Trawl Fishery Scoping Study

Abstract

The Queensland Ecological Risk Assessment Guideline (the Guideline) was released in March 2018 as part of the Queensland Sustainable Fisheries Strategy 2017–2027. This Guideline provides an overview of the strategy being employed to develop Ecological Risk Assessments (ERAs) for Queensland’s fisheries.

The Scoping Study establishes a baseline of information on the key characteristics of the East Coast Otter Trawl Fishery (ECOTF). It includes information on the broader management regime, key species, gear configurations and catch, effort and bycatch interaction trends. Information contained in the scoping study for the ECOTF will be used to inform subsequent assessments including the whole-of-fishery ECOTF species-specific assessment.