Download EASTERN TUNA MAC 5-year Research Plan

Australian Tuna and
Billfish Fisheries
ANNUAL RESEARCH STATEMENT
2012 - 2013
Version 3.0
Annual Research Statement for 2012/13
The Tropical Tuna Resource Assessment Group (TTRAG) has identified the following
projects as high priorities for the Australian Tuna and Billfish Fisheries for the 2012/13
financial year:

Develop a Harvest Strategy for the Tropical Tuna and Billfish Fisheries

Evaluate the relevance of species rated as high risk under the Eastern Tuna
and Billfish Fishery Ecological Risk Assessment
These projects are consistent with AFMA’s corporate research goals and fishery
management objectives, and should form the focus of research funding proposals.
Develop and test a Harvest Strategy for the Tropical Tuna and Billfish
Fisheries
Objectives
Develop and test a harvest strategy framework for the Tropical Tuna and Billfish Fisheries
(ETBF & WTBF) to assist TTRAG agree on Recommend Biological Commercial Catches
(RBCCs) to inform the setting of Total Allowable Commercial Catches (TACCs) for ETBF
& WTBF target species.
Issue to be addressed
The TTRAG was unable to provide advice on RBCCs due to insufficient catch and effort
data available. The ETBF & WTBF require a harvest strategy that can be utilised over a
range of catch and effort levels so that the TTRAG can provide advice on RBCCs. These
will be considered by the AFMA Commission when setting TACCs for the fisheries.
Background
As a signatory of the Western and Central Pacific Fishery Commission (WCPFC) and the
Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC), Australia must abide by the decisions of
allocation amongst members of those organisations.
The previous Government’s negotiating position on TACC levels in the WTBF was for 5%
of the IOTC’s assessed long term sustainable catch levels. The current Government is
considering a new position on catch levels, but currently have no Whole of Government
position.
In accordance with the Commonwealth Harvest Strategy Policy, a domestic harvest
strategy should be applied in all Commonwealth fisheries to determine RBCCs in cases
where there is a lack of an international agreement and no Whole of Government position.
As Australia does not have a whole of government position, nor is there international
agreement, developing a Harvest Strategy that can be applied in the WTBF is a high
priority for 2011-2016 in order to provide advice for setting WTBF species TACCs in future
years. It is also important that the harvest strategy cover the various
Evaluate the relevance species rated as high risk under the Eastern Tuna
and Billfish Fishery Ecological Risk Assessment
Objectives
Re-evaluate the appropriateness of the high risk rating given to some species under the
Ecological Risk Assessment using the latest information.
Issues to be addressed
As part of the Level 3 Sustainability Assessment for Fishing Effects (SAFE) of the ERA, a
risk score defaults to a high risk category when a species are missing either a productivity
or susceptibility attribute. The ERA was completed in 2007 and additional information may
now be available on any missing attributes for these species. The risk rating of high risk
species should be re-evaluated incorporating this new information into the analysis.
Background
AFMA have implemented an Ecological Risk Management (ERM) framework for the ETBF
that details a process for assessing and progressively addressing the impacts that the
fisheries’ activities have on target species, by-product and discard species, protected
(TEP) species, habitats and communities.
The result of these risk assessments is a priority list identifying the key ecological areas in
each fishery that require management attention. Ecological risk management strategies
have now been developed to address the priority lists identified for each fishery.