Commonwealth and state fisheries management agencies have defined, and are in the process of executing, new and demanding stock assessment programs. Risk-based methods are integral to all of these programs.

Agencies use these risk-based methods to: identify which species are to be assessed; how they are assessed; and, the managerial interpretation of those assessments. Therefore, the concept of “risk” plays a very complex role in stock assessment and is used in a variety of contexts. Although these new and innovative approaches for undertaking stock assessment are to be welcomed, there are potential drawbacks to a national fragmentation of methods, particularly the divergent applications of risk-based methods. There are costs associated with “re-inventing wheels” and not learning from the experiences of other jurisdictions. Any framework for stock assessment will benefit from peer review.

Benchmarks for the use of risk-based approaches within stock assessment will enable an objective comparison of how such methods are applied. This will provide agencies with a valuable tool to better understand the strengths and weaknesses of the approach they adopt, including insight into: gaps and overlaps in assessment programs; managerial interpretation of assessments; staff skills and knowledge; and infrastructure issues (such as database and reporting technologies). This analysis of strengths and weaknesses will be an important resource for agencies when reviews of environmental assessments (and any associated managerial instruments) are undertaken.

Planned outcomes from this project will support agencies to make more informed decisions with respect to the assessment of data-poor species. This has the potential to deliver better outcomes from the stock assessment of such species at lower costs (i.e. rapid stock assessment methods). Furthermore, the outputs of this project will encourage the adoption of nationally consistent approaches that integrate risk-based methods into assessment programs.