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Reduced economic circumstances have moved management goals towards higher profit, rather than maximum sustainable yields in several Australian fisheries. The eastern king prawn is one such fishery, for which we have developed new methodology for stock dynamics, calculation of model-based and data-based reference points and management strategy evaluation. The fishery is notable for the northward movement of prawns in eastern Australian waters, from the State jurisdiction of New South Wales to that of Queensland, as they grow to spawning size, so that vessels fishing in the northern deeper waters harvest more large prawns. Bioeconomic fishing data were standardized for calibrating a length-structured spatial operating model. Model simulations identified that reduced boat numbers and fishing effort could improve profitability while retaining viable fishing in each jurisdiction. Simulations also identified catch rate levels that were effective for monitoring in simple within-year effort-control rules. However, favourable performance of catch rate indicators was achieved only when a meaningful upper limit was placed on total allowed fishing effort. The methods and findings will allow improved measures for monitoring fisheries and inform decision makers on the uncertainty and assumptions affecting economic indicators. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: Common commercial fishing practices of eviscerating, beheading and finning sharks create the need for using conversion factors from partial lengths to total length and from partial masses to total mass. In the present paper, these conversion factors were calculated for Squalus megalops. In addition, total and partial length–length and mass–length relationships of male and female S. megalops were compared using different ranges of size. There was no effect of size range on measurements reflecting only somatic growth (fork and carcass lengths; carcass, pectoral fin and caudal fin masses) but for variables reflecting somatic and reproductive growth (total and liver masses), different outcomes can be expected when different ranges of size are compared. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Sources of variation in dietary composition were examined in the piked spurdog (Squalus megalops). The species is an opportunistic predator that consumes a wide range of prey items. When importance of prey was measured by weight or occurrence, S. megalops preyed largely on molluscs and teleosts. However, when number of prey was considered, the main items were crustaceans. A bootstrap analysis showed that considerable variability can be expected in the importance of prey items in the species'' overall diet. Regional, seasonal, and ontogenetic differences in dietary composition were found, but there were no differences between mature and immature sharks or between males and females. The spatial and temporal variation in diet exhibited by S. megalops and the intrinsic natural variability of the dietary composition of this opportunistic predator suggest that studies that infer predator–prey interactions from overall diet are likely to miss information on the ecological relationships among species and thus account for only part of these interactions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]