The Tasmanian fishing industry and management identified the need for a better understanding of structure and strategies of the scalefish fishery. This information ranges from the number of fishers targeting the various species, to the degree of operational specialisation or generalisation, and the seasonal and spatial fishing strategies including key drivers for fishing decisions.

Amalgamating these dynamics in multi-species and multi-gear fisheries into a holistic fishery approach in stock assessment and management, rather than the commonly-used single-species approaches, is needed. Such an approach is crucial to reduce unexpected cross-species impacts brought about by effort shifts between different components of the whole fishery as a response to changes in management measures and/or resource availability.

This proposal addresses three key research and development priorities for wild fisheries outlined in the Tasmanian Fisheries and Aquaculture Research Strategic Plan (2005-2008): 'Management options/assessment' by seeking to optimise management measures for the scalefish fisheries; 'Resource assessment & monitoring' by providing information on the current and projected structure of scalefish resources; and 'Impacts of fishing' by supporting the evaluation of the effects of alternative management and fishing scenarios on fished populations.

This project addresses also the FRDC R&D ‘Natural resource sustainability’ priority to ‘Measure and mitigate the interactions of fishing and non-fishing activities on the aquatic environment and fish stocks‘ and ‘Developing spatially explicit management models for fish stocks’. Considering the spatial overlap and interactions of scalefish species and their fisheries, the project supports the FRDC's strategic vision to move towards assessment and management of Australia’s fisheries at the ecosystem rather than single-species level.