Effective strategies for stock assessment and sustainable management have not been developed for cockle fisheries. Development of the fishery for maximum economic value must be conducted within a framework of sustainable exploitation. The South Australian cockle fishery has recently moved to management under a TAC. Consequently there is potential to develop a harvest strategy that matches target size and product availability with market requirements. To achieve this requires development of robust indices of relative abundance as well as detailed knowledge of the market requirements and potential management tools.

The primary focus of this project is to address recommendations by the Department of Environment and Heritage (DEH) aimed at strengthening the effectiveness of the management arrangements for the South Australian Rock Lobster Fishery (SARLF), namely:

"PIRSA to pursue complementary management arrangements with other Australian jurisdictions responsible for managing southern rock lobster fisheries to ensure that all removals and other relevant impacts on the stock are properly accounted for in stock assessments."

This project also reponds to demands for increased levels of accuracy, efficiency and timeliness brought about by new reporting relationships and the managements needs of the fisheries. e.g ecological assessment under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (1999); Threatened, Endangered and Protected Species reporting; management of the resources on a finer spatial scale; industry and environmental programs (e.g. Clean green); and the conduct of common research across jurisdictions and associated sharing of data.