Status assessment of the eastern Torres Strait Spanish mackerel fishery (T1.2)

Task leader: Dr Gavin Begg, CRC Reef and James Cook University.

All stakeholders are concerned about the eastern Torres Strait Spanish mackerel fishery driven by questions about the sustainability of current harvest rates and a lack of relevant information. This research task aims to investigate the current status of the Torres Strait Spanish mackerel fishery.
Given the special circumstance in the eastern Torres Strait, where the harvest of Spanish mackerel is shared between Torres Strait Islanders and non-indigenous fishers, this project will actively involve all stakeholder groups to ensure all available fisheries information is gathered and correctly interpreted, and that the assessment process remains transparent and accessible.
The research will provide managers and stakeholders with greater certainty regarding the current status of the fishery and provide recommendations to ensure future sustainable harvest from the resource.

Objectives

• To retrieve and collate all available biological, historical fisheries, and commercial and islander catch and effort data on the Torres Strait Spanish mackerel fishery.
• To review, document and report the extent and quality of the collated data and determine the most suitable model for a status assessment of the Torres Strait Spanish mackerel stock.
• To optimise use of all available data to describe current trends in the fishery, and undertake a status assessment of the Torres Strait Spanish mackerel fishery.
• To advise on monitoring, reporting and/or further research required to improve or enable future assessments of the Torres Strait Spanish mackerel fishery.

Outcomes
This research will provide fisheries managers and stakeholders with a comprehensive status assessment of the fishery from which future management and harvest strategies can be developed. The collation and formal assessment of historical catch and effort data will enable stakeholders to make future management decisions from a more informed basis than is currently available. All stakeholders and managers associated with the Spanish mackerel fishery will benefit in the medium- to long-term through the improved management of this valuable resource. Beginning the project with an extensive liaison exercise as well as maintaining active engagement of all stakeholders throughout the project will result in improved understanding of the assessment and management processes.