South and West Coast Estuarine/Inshore Finfish Sustainability

A diverse range of freshwater, estuarine and coastal species have been exploited historically by the commercial and the recreational sectors. This project concerns the South Coast Bioregion and the West Coast Bioregion, which comprise a variety of fisheries.Commercial fishing is mainly by gill and haul nets, and recreational fishing mainly by rod and line. Inshore species include tailor, Australian salmon, Australian herring, King George whiting, yellow-finned whiting, sea garfish and skipjack trevally. Estuarine species include black bream, cobbler, flathead, whiting, sea mullet and yellow eye mullet.A lot of data is required for the management of these fisheries because they are multi-sector, multi gear and multi-species. The biology of species in each fishery varies with some regional stocks and others that are local to a small area. Also, the recruitment of many target species is highly variable.There is considerable environmental pressure on these habitats, particularly estuarine, and so research needs to be collaborative with other government departments, universities and stakeholders to manage the combination of environmental and fishing factors.Resource sharing is also an issue in these regions, where most of WA's population lives.This project will: * Carry out stock assessments for priority species in each fishery. * Monitor catch and effort levels of each sector in each fishery. * Provide advice to managers, stakeholders, media and the public about the status of estuarine and inshore finfish stocks. * Provide advice to managers to assist the implementation of Integrated Fisheries Management and fisheries adjustment schemes. * Identify gaps in biological data needed for stock assessments and facilitate research to close those gaps.Time :ongoing