Development and Evaluation of SESSF Multi-species Harvest Strategies

The Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery (SESSF) the second most valuable Commonwealth-managed fishery.   This multi-species, multi-gear fishery extends from Queensland, around south-eastern Australia to Western Australia.  Ecosystem interactions and such a wide variety of target species and different fishing methods leads to challenges when it comes to effective management — effective management of one target species could lead to unsustainable fishing for a non-targeted species.  This is a problem that has not been solved anywhere else in the world for a fishery of such complexity. In a first of its kind, this project is developing a cutting-edge new approach to multi species stock assessments that will ensure a sustainable and profitable fishery.