Project 4.8.4 - Evaluation of the impacts from industry and community uses on inshore biodiversity

Project Leader:  Dr Andrew Tobin, James Cook University 

Project 4.8.4 will evaluate the impacts on inshore biodiversity arising from industry and community uses.  Fishing is the primary extractive use of inshore marine species by industry and the wider community, but currently the ecological, social and economic sustainability of this use and associated impacts on the inshore biodiversity is unknown.  This Project will directly address the key MTSRF goal of sustainable use and management of natural resources by providing an understanding of the current and potential industry and community uses of inshore biodiversity and natural resources with respect to ecological sustainability and provide information and options to assist managers, industry and communities to optimise the use of biodiversity resources and minimise adverse impacts where they occur.

Specifically, this Project will provide a report on the ecological effects of the GBR Zoning Plan on inshore biodiversity resources and a report on strategies to better mitigate the environmental impacts of the inshore finfish fishery, particularly impacts on sharks and other vulnerable species.  This Project also directly supports the MTSRF Mission to facilitate capacity-building for sustainable environmental management and environmental management research by incorporating and fostering postgraduate research within the Project.

Key objectives of this Project are to:

• Characterise the industry and community use of inshore biodiversity;

• Evaluate the effects of current management arrangements, in particular the GBR Zoning Plan, on industry and community use of inshore biodiversity resources;

• Derive biological parameters, determine stock structure and identify critical habitats for key inshore species, in particular sharks, used by industry and the community;

• Evaluate the impacts of industry and community use on key inshore marine species, such as sharks, within the GBRWHA by identifying vulnerable species or species groups and assessing potential risks; and

• Assess potential strategies to mitigate the impacts of industry and community use on inshore resources within the GBRWHA.