The Esd Assessment Manual for Wild Capture Fisheries
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THE ESD ASSESSMENT MANUAL FOR WILD CAPTURE FISHERIES Version 1 October 2003 FRDC Project 2002/086 This ‘ESD Assessment Manual’ is part of an on-going process to develop a framework for the reporting and assessment of ESD for fisheries within Australia. This edition is the first version, changes are expected to be made at regular intervals when further information indicates that significant improvements can be made. The material may be copied for use in completing assessments and reports as long as appropriate acknowledgement of the source is given. Whilst this project was originally conducted under the auspices of the SCFA, and is now a project endorsed by the Marine and Coastal Committee of the Natural Resources Management Committee (NRMC), it should not be taken as being the policy of any individual fisheries management agency. © FRDC 2002/086 Project Team Version 1 October 2003 ISBN: 1 877098 37 X Project Team Rick Fletcher (Principal Investigator) Department of Fisheries, WA Jean Chesson Bureau of Rural Science Melanie Fisher Bureau of Rural Science Keith Sainsbury CSIRO Tor Hundloe University of Queensland Correct Citation Fletcher, W.J., Chesson, J., Sainsbury, K.J., Hundloe, T., Fisher M., (2003) National ESD Reporting Framework for Australian Fisheries: The ESD Assessment Manual for Wild Capture Fisheries. FRDC Project 2002/086, Canberra, Australia. This report forms Publication No. 4 of the FRDC - ESD Reporting and Assessment Subprogram. The latest version of this report and other material related to the ESD Subprogram may be downloaded from the web site www.fisheries-esd.com Postal Address – PO Box 20 North Beach WA, 6920 AUSTRALIA CONTENTS 1.0 Introduction ......................................................................................................................2 1.1 Background.................................................................................................................2 1.2 Outline of Material Provided ......................................................................................3 2.0 Steps to Develop Performance Measures .......................................................................5 2.1 Contributions of a Fishery to Human Wellbeing ........................................................5 2.2 Contributions of a Fishery to Ecological Wellbeing...................................................9 3.0 Individual Species and Fisheries Reports ....................................................................17 Introduction ......................................................................................................................17 3.1 Individual Species Reports (Retained Species Tree)............................................19 Standard Questions (used to generate species reports).............................................20 3.1.1 Invertebrates ..................................................................................................26 Summary of Invertebrates.........................................................................................26 Rock Lobsters (Temperate).......................................................................................27 Abalone ....................................................................................................................36 Crabs (Shallow) ........................................................................................................43 Crabs (Deep) ............................................................................................................50 Prawns.......................................................................................................................55 3.1.2 Finfish..............................................................................................................62 Summary of Finfish ..................................................................................................62 Tropical Snappers/Jobfish.........................................................................................63 Mid-sized Pelagics ...................................................................................................68 Temperate Snapper ..................................................................................................73 Temperate Slope .....................................................................................................78 Tuna and Billfish ......................................................................................................80 Sharks (Short lived) ..................................................................................................85 Sharks (Long lived) ..................................................................................................89 3.2 Individual Fishery Reports (Non-retained Species, Habitat And General Ecosystem Assessments) .........................................................................................94 Standard Questions (Used to create method reports)................................................95 Summary of Fishing Method Likely Risk Ratings ...................................................99 Potting/Trapping (demersal) ...................................................................................100 Demersal Gillnets ...................................................................................................103 Purse Seine Nets .....................................................................................................106 Longlining...............................................................................................................108 Haul/Seine Nets ......................................................................................................112 Prawn Trawling.......................................................................................................114 Fish Trawling ..........................................................................................................124 Appendix 1: Generic Performance Limits and Targets....................................................127 Appendix 2: Blank Individual Species Report ..................................................................131 Appendix 3: Blank Individual Fishery Template (Habitat And Ecosystem)..................134 ESD Assessment Manual (October 2003) FRDC 2002/168 1 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background FRDC Project 2000/145 developed the conceptual framework and guidelines to enable reports on the contribution of a fishery to Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD) to be produced. This process involved the completion of a series of case studies covering a variety of fisheries from most jurisdictions to ensure that it is applicable in all circumstances. With the publication of the ‘How to Guide’ (Fletcher et al, 2002) and the “Technical Support Document” (Whitworth et al., 2002), both of which are available on the Fisheries ESD website (www.fisheries-esd.com), this phase of ESD implementation has now been completed. The development of the reporting framework was only the first step in a series of linked activities to fully implement ESD across all fisheries. It was not possible to identify, at that stage, what was appropriate performance against each criteria from which systematic assessments of reports could be undertaken by third parties. However, in the absence of a nationally agreed ESD reference document, each of the stakeholder groups that reviews any ESD report is currently forced into using their own set of ‘standards’. Such a situation could lead to significantly different outcomes, depending upon which agency/group conducts the review, and potentially who within the “auditing agency” reviews the report. This has resulted in a a high level of uncertainty, which is unacceptable to many stakeholder groups (including industry, government and non-industry). The ESD Reference Group (which includes representatives of all major stakeholders) met in November 2001 and agreed that there was a requirement to develop a set of projects to achieve the transition from ESD Reporting to ESD Assessment. One of the issues identified by most jurisdictions (and other external parties) was a strong need for assessment officers to have some guidance on what is acceptable performance with regards to performance measures, indicators and management responses for fisheries as soon as possible. Consequently, one of the primary objectives for a FRDC project (2002/086) was to produce the first edition of an Assessment manual. This manual was to include a summary of the information available from which an understanding of what was considered acceptable &/or best practice for the main species/fisheries within Australia could be initiated. Thus, the information should be used as a general guide when preparing or assessing reports, not as a prescription of what must be done. The material presented in this manual covers most of the issues of relevance to the major “auditing”/management agencies along with environmental and broader community groups, at an appropriate level of detail. Drafts of this material have been presented to the ESD Reference group and its constituent members to ensure that the directions being taken have provided the information required. This is the first edition of what is expected to be an ongoing process with revisions and updates occurring at least annually over the next four years. At this stage, most of the information presented only relates to the ecological/ environmental issues, and mostly for commercial rather