West and South Coast Demersal Scalefish Sustainability

This project provides scientific advice for the management of the demersal (bottom-dwelling) scalefish in the West and South Coast Bioregions. This is WA's most populated region and fishery has both commercial and recreational sectors. Management of the wetline fishery and the Integrated Fisheries Management process have begun and robust stock assessments of the major species are needed. This will be the first project dedicated to sustainability of these bioregions, though some research required for sustainability has been done. Data collection for the stock assessment of the WA dhufish (Glaucosoma hebraicum) and the pink snapper (Pagrus auratus) has begun. FRDC project Spatial scales of exploitation among populations of demersal scalefish: implications for wetline management, ends June 2006). This project is assessing regional differences among fish populations and the level of fishing. A project is studying the rates of post-release mortality that affects fish released because they are undersized or over the bag limit ( FRDC project Maximising survival of released undersize west coast reef fish, ends June 2007). This project focuses on WA dhufish and snapper although other species - baldchin groper, breaksea cod, coral trout and the emperors - are considered to be important. The current focus for management is in the West Coast Bioregion, so research will concentrate there first. The projects will: * Provide timely and informed scientific advice on relevant fish stocks and fishing impacts to the Department's commercial and recreational programmes, the wetline management panel and for the IFM program. * Develop and maintain an adequate fisheries database on WCB demersal finfish to enable the status of the stocks to be assessed annually. * Gather relevant biological information on the major target species in the fishery to enable the assessment of stock status and sustainable yields from the fishery. * Provide a permanent record of research outcomes from the project in an appropriate form to meet general public, industry and scientific community needs.

Time : ongoing, FRDC projects as described above.