Development of a user-friendly MSE framework for Queensland’s rocky reef fishery

Abstract

Researchers from the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries have developed a Management Strategy Evaluation (MSE) tool to test the effects of potential management changes on the spawning biomass of Snapper and Pearl Perch in Queensland. The MSE was developed in collaboration with a scientist from the University of Tasmania and software consultants from MathWorks® and Jundra. The MSE was built on stock assessment procedures to construct a virtual stock on which various management scenarios were imposed to determine their effect.

Snapper and Pearl Perch have been exploited since the late 1880s and are both currently assessed as depleted in Queensland. Previous stock assessments indicate the spawning biomass of both Snapper and Pearl Perch is currently at unsustainable levels and significant management intervention is required. The MSE confirms that significant increases in the minimum legal size that allows more animals to spawn before capture will have a positive effect on the spawning biomass of both species. This, combined with an increase in the length of the spawning closure, is likely to increase spawning biomass to acceptable levels in Queensland.

The MSE enables Fisheries Queensland to make evidence-based management decisions. Stakeholders are unlikely to support management intervention that significantly reduces catch if there is insufficient evidence that such measures will achieve fishery objectives. The MSE enables Fisheries Queensland to demonstrate the efficacy of management changes before their implementation. The MSE can also help guide the development of appropriate harvest control rules and/or harvest strategies.