The management of fishing must be undertaken within the context of the ecosystem(s) that support the exploited stocks, a management approach termed Ecosystem-Based Fisheries Management (EBFM). The WA Department of Fisheries (DoF) recognizes the inherent complexity in attempting to implement an EBFM system, including the need to consider a much wider range of processes, issues and data than is required for singe-stock management. Research on the implementation of EBFM is being undertaken in a project funded by the WA Marine Science Institution (WAMSI). This project aims to (1) develop mechanisms and processes for integrating EBFM into "mainstream" fisheries management, including the WA Government’s Integrated Fisheries Management (IFM) initiative, and (2) to source, identify and integrate appropriate supporting research. It is expected that EBFM will eventually subsume both traditional fisheries management and IFM. Ultimately, this project will provide stakeholders, including the broader WA community, with a much improved understanding of what EBFM means and how it could be achieved, which will engender within the WA community a greater understanding of sustainable management of marine ecosystems. This presentation provides an overview of how DoF and partners are progressing the implementation of EBFM.

This record describes, and links to a working paper produced through the Resource Management in Asia-Pacific (RMAP) Program based at The Australian National University in Canberra. One of the most hotly debated issues of fisheries policy in the Pacific is whether or not public funds should be used to finance commercial tuna fishing ventures. Many commentators from within the region argue for public investment in the industry to stimulate domestication. In this paper we propose an alternative policy in which tuna fishing revenues are invested offshore through a trust fund, rather than re-invested in domestic commercial fishing activity. Trust fund earnings could then be used to stimulate and support private sector initiatives and alternative economic activities. We use the example of Kiribati, one of the poorer Pacific island countries, to illustrate how offshore investment through a trust fund has succeeded in generating substantial revenues, when most Kiribati government corporations, including a state-owned fishing enterprise, have performed poorly.

This sub-project addresses the question what are the initial and longer term (2 years) economic and social values generated under the changed management arrangements associated with the demersal finfish fisheries of the West Coast Bioregion’, in relation to the charter boat industry of Western Australia. It assesses the development, size, and structure of the industry, and examines the socio-economic impact of recent changes to the management of recreational fishing in the West Coast Bioregion. The results of an operational and financial and socio-economic survey of active operators and an analysis of daily trip returns show that tour operators have adapted to the new management regime in five principal ways: (i) a decline of fishing effort; (ii) an increase in alternative (non-demersal) fishing activity; (iii) an increase in non-extractive activity; (iv) a transfer of some effort outside of the West Coast Bioregion; (v) and the exit of active operators and the retirement of inactive licenses.