Crustacean fisheries (such as those targeting rock losters, crabs and prawns) contribute more than a billion dollars to the Australian economy annually. Population models for stocks that support these fisheries often rely on indirect measures of age (e.g. size-modal analysis) which can confound estimates of other life history parameters and introduce errors into the modelling process.

A method to directly age commercially exploited crustaceans (by counting growth bands in calcified regions of the eyestalk and/or the gastric mill) has been developed by Dr Raouf Kalida at the University of New Brunswick, Canada and published last year. His technique has the potential to substantially improve the precision of stock assessments on crustacean fisheries around the world.

There is a need to transfer this technology to fisheries research agencies in Australia so that we can better understand growth patterns in crustaceans, reduce uncertainty in crustacean population models and provide better advice to fishery managers. This in turn should lead to improved management practices and greater stability in the national crustacean harvest, noting that production by several crustacean fisheries is also strongly linked to environmental factors.

The most effective means to address this need is to host Dr Kalida in Australia for a period of time to share his knowledge of crustacean ageing and provide guidance to domestic fisheries scientists working in the field. The proposed project aligns with a number of FRDC Strategic Priority Areas including: Theme 4 (Ecologically Sustainable Development), Theme 13 (Innovation Skills) and Theme 14 (Extension and Adoption).