Modelling the impact of multiple harvest strategies in the Eastern Torres Strait (ETS) reef line fishery (T1.8)

Task leader: Ms Sara Busilacchi, CRC Reef and James Cook University.

This project is complimentary to Evaluation of the Eastern Torres Strait (ETS) reef line fishery (T1.1) by Dr Gavin Begg. It focuses on modelling the impacts of a multi-sector fishery, such as the ETS reef line fishery. This research will focus on monitoring and characterising the traditional fishing practises, rather than the commercial sectors, along with the biological parameters of the major reef fish species important for the commercial sectors. This research is prompted by concerns that demersal reef fish resources in the Torres Strait are decreasing and the necessity of resolving ever-increasing resource allocation and sustainable utilisation issues. Non Islander and Islander commercial fishers as well as traditional fishing sectors are all in harvesting reef fish in the ETS, even though little is known about this fishery or how the different sectors affect the natural resources in the region.

This research will assess whether the different fishing sectors can co-exist, while maintaining sustainable reef fish population levels for the well being of the Islander people, both from an economic and traditional perspective. The expected outcomes of the project are an evaluation of the current management strategies for this fishery, and the assessment of alternative management and allocation strategies, with particular regard for the concerns of the Torres Strait Islanders. This will enable the management agencies and the Torres Strait communities to approach future management decisions from a more informed basis about past and present traditional harvesting strategies.

Objectives

• Collate information about the traditional reef fishing activities in the Eastern Torres Strait (ETS) to document the history of the fishery and the importance of the primary commercial species to traditional fishers.
• Collect catch and effort data of the traditional fishing activities in the ETS to quantitatively and qualitatively characterise the traditional fishing sector.
• Develop an age-structured population model to simulate and assess the implications of multiple co-existing harvest strategies.
• Develop the protocols for a monitoring program designed to assess long-term trends in the traditional fishing sector to be used in a routine assessment process.

Outcomes

• Information on the traditional fishing component of the reef line fishery in Eastern Torres Strait.
• Development of an age-structured population model that will provide an assessment tool to evaluate artisanal fisheries where multiple co-existing harvest strategies occur.
• Evaluation of the current management strategies for this fishery and the assessment of alternative management and allocation strategies, with particular regard for the concerns of the Torres Strait Islanders.
• Document catch composition to clarify the overlap between commercial and traditional harvest, which will help in future decisions about resource allocation and appropriate regulatory frameworks for the different sectors of the fishery.
• Active engagement of Torres Strait communities during the project will improve understanding of the research, assessment and management practices.