Effects of Western Rock Lobster Fishing on Deepwater Ecology

In 1999/2000 the Western Rock Lobster Managed Fishery became the world's first fishery to receive Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification, and since then the management process has moved on to address the MSC's annual audit requirements. As part of this process an ecological risk assessment (ERA) and more recently an environmental management strategy (EMS) have been completed.A gap in the knowledge of deep-water rock lobster ecology was identified as a priority area of research. This project will examine the effects of western rock lobster fishing on the ecosystem and improve the understanding of the interactions between the rock lobster fishery and the ecosystem in deep water.The project will: * identify gradients in the density/size distribution of western rock lobster to enable selection of representative areas; * identify gradients in the density/size distribution of western rock lobster to enable selection of representative areas, * assess the catchability of western rock lobster and its relationship with population abundance and size structure; and * identify the relationship between the deep-water habitat and the density/size distribution of western rock lobster to enable a preliminary evaluation of the impact of lobster biomass removal in the deep-water.Results will be disseminated as: * a non-technical description of the project and its results for public discussion; * scientific papers describing the project and its results; * reports and presentation to industry and advisory groups; and * a report for fisheries managers detailing the findings of the study.Time: Due for completion December 2007

1999/2000年，西岩龙虾管理渔业成为全球首个获得海洋管理委员会（Marine Stewardship Council，MSC）认证的渔业，自此其管理流程需持续满足MSC的年度审核要求。作为该管理流程的组成部分，一项生态风险评估（Ecological Risk Assessment，ERA）已完成，近期更制定了环境管理策略（Environmental Management Strategy，EMS）。

研究团队发现，当前深水岩龙虾生态学相关知识存在显著缺口，该领域被列为优先研究方向。本项目旨在探究西岩龙虾捕捞活动对海洋生态系统的影响，并深化对深水岩龙虾渔业与生态系统间相互作用的理解。

本项目将开展如下工作：
- 调研西岩龙虾种群密度与体型分布的梯度特征，以筛选具有代表性的研究区域；
- 调研西岩龙虾种群密度与体型分布的梯度特征，以筛选具有代表性的研究区域；
- 评估西岩龙虾的可捕性及其与种群丰度、体型结构的关联；
- 明确深水栖息地与西岩龙虾密度、体型分布之间的关系，以初步评估深水区域龙虾生物量移除所带来的生态影响。

本项目的研究成果将通过以下渠道发布：
- 面向公众的项目及成果非技术性说明，用于公开讨论；
- 阐述项目与研究成果的学术论文；
- 面向行业与咨询团体的报告及宣讲材料；
- 供渔业管理者参考的、详细收录本研究结果的专项报告。

本项目预计于2007年12月完成。