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Defining goals and objectives is a critical component of adaptive management of natural resources because they provide the basis on which management strategies can be designed and evaluated. The aims of this study are: (i) to apply and test a collaborative method to elicit goals and objectives for inshore fisheries and biodiversity in the coastal zone of a regional city in Australia; (ii) to understand the relative importance of management objectives for different community members and stakeholders; and (iii) to understand how diverse perceptions about the importance of management objectives can be used to support multiple-use management in Australia’s iconic Great Barrier Reef. Management goals and objectives were elicited and weighted using the following steps: (i) literature review of management objectives, (ii) development of a hierarchy tree of objectives, and (iii) ranking of management objectives using survey methods. The overarching goals identified by the community group were to: (1) protect and restore inshore environmental assets; (2) improve governance systems; and (3) improve regional (socio-economic) well-being. Interestingly, these goals differ slightly from the usual triple-bottom line objectives (environmental, social and economic) often found in the literature. The objectives were ranked using the Analytical Hierarchical Process, where a total of 141 respondents from industry, government agencies, and community from across Queensland State undertook the survey. The environment goal received the highest scores, followed by governance and lastly well-being. The approach to elicit and rank goals and objectives developed in this study can be used to effectively support coastal resource management by providing opportunities for local communities to participate in the setting of regional objectives.

This paper details Australian research that developed tools to assist fisheries managers and government agencies in engaging with the social dimension of industry and community welfare in fisheries management. These tools are in the form of objectives and

A review of future management arrangements for the Queensland East Coast Trawl fishery was undertaken in 2010 to develop a management plan for the next 10 years. A key question raised at the start of the review process was: what should the management plan achieve? As with fisheries management in most countries, multiple management objectives were implicit in policy statements, but were poorly specified in some areas (particularly social objectives) and strongly identified in others (e.g., an objective of sustainability). As a start to the management review process, an analysis of what objectives the management system should aim to achieve was undertaken. A review of natural resource management objectives employed internationally was used to develop a candidate list, and the objectives most relevant to the fishery were short-listed by a scientific advisory group. Additional objectives specific to Queensland fisheries management, but not identified in the international review, were also identified and incorporated into the objective set. The relative importance of the different objectives to different stakeholder groups was assessed using the Analytic Hierarchy Process. As with other studies, the relative importance of the different objectives varied both within and between the different stakeholder groups, although general trends in preferences were observed.

The project delivered biological reference points for management of the Queensland saucer scallop fishery. They will allow the fishery to be sustainably and profitably managed which will benefit all involved in the Queensland scallop fishery. Specifically, the project contributed to the following outcomes: 1. Updated estimation of stock status using improved methodology and integrated multiple previously unused data sources including Vessel Monitoring System data, fishery independent survey data and historical catch and catch-rate data. 2. Constructed a framework for evaluating spatio-temporal and other management strategies in relation to equilibrium reference points MSY and Emsy, and an indicator of catch rate. 3. Ascertained that, irrespective of management strategy, and assumptions on historical data, MSY for the fishery is around 500 to 800 tonnes. 4. Provided evidence that a 95 mm minimum legal size during the winter months leads to a marginally higher MSY than the current 90 mm year round system. 5. Provided evidence that a three-year, pulse-fishery oriented closure schedule leads to modestly higher values of the catch rate indicator. 6. The project delivered a set of reference points to implement within the Fisheries Queensland plan review. 7. The project better informed stakeholders and managers about the important need to spatially monitor and manage saucer scallops

Objective 1. Measure spatial and temporal trawl frequency of scallop grounds using VMS data. This will provide a relative measure of how often individual undersized scallops are caught and put through a tumbler 2. Estimate discard mortality and growth rates for saucer scallops using cage experiments. 3. Evaluate the current management measures, in particular the seasonal closure, rotational closure and seasonally varying minimum legal sizes using stock assessment and management modeling models. Recommend optimal range of management measures to ensure long-term viability and value of the Scallop fishery based on a formal management strategy evaluation. Outcomes acheived to date: 1. Improved understanding of the survival rates of discarded sub-legal scallops; 2. Preliminary von Bertalanffy growth parameters using data from tagged-and-released scallops; 3. Changing trends in vessels and fishing gear used in the Queensland scallop fishery and their effect on scallop catch rates over time using standardised catch rates quantified; 4. Increases in fishing power of vessels operating in the Queensland scallop fishery quantified; 5. Trawl intensity mapped and quantified for all Scallop Replenishment Areas; 6. Harvest Strategy Evaluations completed.

The Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries (DPI&F) manages the harvest of Queensland’s fish, mollusc and crustacean species and the habitats they live in and is committed to monitor the condition and trends in fish populations and their habitats. This information is used to assess the effectiveness of fisheries management strategies ensuring that the fisheries continue to be ecologically sustainable. Two species of mud crab, Scylla serrata and S. olivacea, are found in Queensland waters (Keenan et al. 1998). The most abundant of these species in Queensland is S. serrata. The annual Queensland harvest of mud crabs, primarily S. serrata, has been steadily increasing from approximately 200 t in 1988 to around 1000 t in 2000 - 2001. Commercial catch rates remained relatively constant at about 20 kg/day until 1997, increasing to 26 kg/day in 2000 - 2001. The high value of the fishery ($10.4 M) (Williams 2002), increasing catch rates and increasing total effort combined with general public pressure to review the suitability of current management arrangements, resulted in mud crabs being included in the DPI&F, Long Term Monitoring Program (LTMP). The objectives of the mud crab monitoring was to obtain fishery-independent catch per unit effort data to estimate annual changes in relative abundance, record size frequency and sex ratios for long-term comparison of population structure and population sustainability indicators, and to record changes in habitat, water quality, effects of fishing pressure and several additional abiotic variables. The sampling design included 17 regions statewide, from the Gulf of Carpentaria in north-western Queensland to Moreton Bay in south-eastern Queensland. Each region was stratified into four locations - foreshore, mouth, mid- and upper-estuarine. Standard commercially available Munyana© brand crab pots are used to conduct 20 pot sets annually at each location. Bycatch (species not targeted and not kept) in the mud crab fi

In Queensland, saucer scallops (Amusium japonicum balloti) are a target or principal species in the east coast otter trawl fishery. The fishery operates from about 20o S to the New South Wales border. The fishery is currently managed by a series of input and output controls, including spatial and temporal closures, effort and gear regulation and minimum size limits. In 2006, the annual Queensland saucer scallop harvest was estimated at 504 tonnes (CFISH database June 2007). Decreasing total catch and catch rates combined with consistently high effort from 1993 until 1996, raised concern amongst fishers and fisheries managers regarding the sustainability of the stock. A precautionary management approach led to the creation in 1997 of scallop replenishment areas, three areas closed to fishing in the Yeppoon, Bustard Head and Hervey Bay regions. In 2001, these scallop replenishment areas were expanded and opened to fishing according to a rotational harvest strategy. The objective was to allow fishers access to the high densities of post spawning scallops that develop within the replenishment areas. The current rotational strategy allows for a 9 month fishing period, followed by a 15 month closure. Since 1997, the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries has carried out an annual scallop survey. In its initial phase this survey was a pre-recruitment survey. The objectives were to provide a long-term data series that when combined with existing fishery monitoring programs and historical data would assist in the assessment of the resource status and contribute to assessment of the performance of management strategies. The objectives of the survey were revised in 2001 corresponding with the introduction of a rotational harvest strategy for the scallop replenishment areas. Current objectives focus on assessing the performance of the rotational harvest strategy. Standardisation of scallop survey catch rates allows data from 1997 to 2006 to be directly compared. This re

In Queensland, stout whiting (Sillago robusta) is targeted by the Finfish (Stout Whiting) Trawl Fishery (T4), which is a demersal otter trawl fishery. Although also caught by the T1 otter trawl sector of the Queensland East Coast Trawl Fishery, they can not be retained. Stout whiting is also a commercial species caught by the New South Wales Trawl Fishery. The monitoring aims to provide a long-term data series of size and age structure representative of fish caught in the T4 fishery. These data feed into regular assessments of the fishery that are used to set an annual voluntary quota. This quota system has become part of the evidence allowing export approval to be granted under the Australian Government’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (1999). In 2006, the quota was set at 1200 t. This report presents results of the 16 years of data available (1991 to 2006). Across all these years, stout whiting ranged from 70 to 245 mm in fork length and from 3.17 to 129.4 g in total weight. Age groups ranged from 0+ to 8+ years.

Tailor (Pomatomus saltatrix) is a schooling species with a world-wide distribution in subtropical waters that inhabits the coastal waters of southern Australia (Williams 2002). Its distribution in Australian waters ranges from the northern tip of Fraser Island in Queensland to Onslow in Western Australia (Kailola et al. 1993). Queensland commercial and recreational fishers target these schools on ocean beaches between Fraser Island and the New South Wales border, during their annual spawning migration between late winter and spring (Leigh and O’Neill 2004). The estimated harvest of tailor for the commercial sector is 155 t (2004–05), and between 450 and 540 t (2002) by recreational fishers. The Queensland tailor fishery is managed by the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries under the Fisheries Regulation 1995. The current management arrangements include spatial and seasonal closures, minimum legal size limit, limited commercial entry, annual commercial quota and recreational possession limit. The Long Term Monitoring Program (LTMP) monitors the tailor stock by investigating the length, weight, sex and age of the commercially and recreationally caught tailor from the ocean beach sector. This report presents a summary of the data collected from 1999 to 2004. Since 1999, the LTMP has collected 14 486 tailor with over half of those fish collected from zones not included in the seasonal closures. The modal length frequency of tailor was between 300 and 370 mm for all years, sexes and regions. There was a significant relationship between length and weight of tailor, yet no difference between sex or region. The majority of tailor collected were aged as one and two year olds, with very few tailor collected of age three or older. The growth of tailor was similar for both sexes and all regions. The majority of the length and age frequency data are representative of the recreational ocean beach fishery on Fraser Island, which is only part of the fishery. It is theref

The Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries manages the harvest of Queensland’s fish, mollusc and crustacean species and the habitats they live in. Inherent in this responsibility is a commitment to monitoring the condition and trends in fish populations and their associated habitats. This information is used to assess the effectiveness of fisheries management strategies and contributes to ensuring that the fisheries remain ecologically sustainable. The spanner crab, Ranina ranina, inhabits sandy bottoms on the continental shelf off Australia’s east coast, from southern New South Wales, north to the southern Great Barrier Reef. The annual commercial harvest of spanner crabs in Queensland increased rapidly from 1988 to 1994 with fishing effort and catch rates increasing as the fishery expanded into previously unexploited areas. Since 1999, the fishery has been subject to a Total Allowable Commercial Catch (TACC) in Management Area A, divided between the licensed operators by way of Individual Transferable Quota units (ITQ). The current TACC of 1727 tonnes has been in effect since June 2002. The present TACC setting decision rules are based on performance criteria derived from commercial catch rates. However, there is concern about the reliability of fishery dependent catch rates as indicators of stock abundance, partly because the stock is not uniformly distributed, resulting in fishers targeting aggregations of crabs. In response to these management concerns and the high value of the fishery (approximately $10 m), spanner crabs were included in the Department’s Long Term Monitoring Program (LTMP). The objectives of the spanner crab monitoring component of this program are to obtain fishery independent catch per unit effort (CPUE) data, record length frequency and sexratio data, identify interactions with species of conservation interest (SOCI), and monitor bycatch composition. The sampling design includes five assessment regions (Regions 2 to 6) comprising of

Since 1997, the department has monitored the saucer scallop Amusium japonicum balloti stock in southern Queensland. This is a commercially important species worth about $18 million annually. Catch rates observed in the early part of the 1996-1997 scallop season were at about one-third of average levels since 1988. The then Queensland Fisheries Management Authority, acting on the basis of precautionary management, embarked on a two-pronged approach to ensure the sustainability of the fishery. The first was the creation of three scallop replenishment areas, closed to trawling. These areas were historically highly productive and were closed as a means of maintaining spawning stock levels for the coming winter spawning season. The second was the implementation of an annual fishery-independent trawl survey that would measure the density and abundance of scallops before they recruit to the fishery as an indicator of likely catch levels the following season. In 2000 and 2002, samples of benthos were collected from the main scallop fishing grounds from Yeppoon to Hervey Bay as part of the saucer scallop survey.

The stout whiting (Sillago robusta) fishery in southern Queensland is restricted to offshore waters between Caloundra and Sandy Cape in depths ranging between 20 and 50 fathoms. The fishery consists of five licensed trawlers (T4 endorsement). The fishery is managed by means of a ‘industry agreed’ yearly Total Allowable Catch (TAC), which is reviewed annually and divided equally among the vessels. The TAC quota was set at 1000 tonnes for the managed area in 2002. The stout whiting resource was assessed using a newly developed age-structured model, along side with the previous virtual population and surplus production models. The new model was tuned simultaneously to standardised monthly-catch-rates and yearly patterns in the stout whiting catch age-structure. The limit reference point B/K (the ratio of exploitable biomass in 2002 to the exploitable component of the virgin carrying capacity) was estimated to be at about 0.19 (B/K less than 0.2 is generally accepted as high risk of over exploitation). The results from all three models should be viewed cautiously as their uncertainty is high. Given the high uncertainty, any increase in TAC above 1000 t has high risk. In the last four years total catch has varied between 1178 t and 498 t. This year’s assessment has shown no increase in recruitment and biomass after the catch levels of 881 t in 2000 and 855 t in 2002. The management strategy evaluation suggests this years TAC should range between 700t and 900t depending on the target management objectives of risk and yield from the fishery (Table 3.6). This Table 3.6 should be used to guide the decision on TAC setting and to understand how best to compromise the issues of risk (over fishing) and optimising yield (maximising catch and value in the fishery). Summary of the assessment is given in Table 1.1.