This record provides an overview of the scope and research output of NESP Marine Biodiversity Hub Project A10 - "Conservation of handfish and their habitat". For specific data outputs from this project, please see child records associated with this metadata. Spotted and red handfish are critically endangered. Prior to 2019, this project commenced a scientifically robust monitoring program to track conservation trajectories and performance of recovery plan actions across all known sub-populations of Spotted Handfish. An innovative geo-reference photographic method provided both capture-mark-recapture information and sub-population fish densities as a proxy for abundance. Collecting this data was a crucial first step for a future project of targeted placement of artificial spawning habitat (ASH) and to determine minimum population size to inform sustainable capture of brood-stock for captive breeding. From 2019-2020, the project was extended to include Red Handfish. In accordance with the signed Handfish Recovery Plan, this project will conserve Red and Spotted Handfish through various direct conservation actions guided by research. This includes replanting of the degraded plastic artificial spawning habitats (ASH) with a re-designed array of ceramic units, assessment of taut eco-friendly moorings in critical spotted handfish habitat, genetic and capture mark recapture studies for both species, a population viability analysis (PVA) and performance assessment of management actions. The project will also continue a captive breeding project with industry, and engage with the broader community through talks, outreach and publications and re-establishment of the handfish recovery team.

This record provides an overview of the NESP Marine and Coastal Hub project Indigenous Ranger-led monitoring of threatened sawfish in the southern Gulf of Carpentaria. For specific data outputs from this project, please see child records associated with this metadata. This project will partner scientists with First Nations Ranger groups to assess population abundance, distribution and by-catch survival for sawfish species in the southern Gulf of Carpentaria. This project will develop capability in First Nations Ranger Groups that will directly assist with developing baseline status and trends for sawfish species in Australia (including the largetooth sawfish Pristis pristis, which is a priority species: https://www.dcceew.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/threatened-species-action-plan-2022-2032.pdf). Developing sampling and monitoring capability within First Nations Ranger groups in the southern Gulf of Carpentaria will increase the number of tissue samples for close kin mark recapture (CKMR) population estimates, potentially reducing the present reliance on the fishing industry to collect samples, and ultimately enable sawfish population trajectories to be measured. The CSIRO project team will facilitate capacity building of four Ranger teams within the CLCAC Normanton, Gangaliida and Garawa (Burketown), Wellesley Islands and Ngumari Waanyi (Gregory) to undertake sawfish surveys in the Southern Gulf. The training will build the skills of the Rangers to undertake sawfish surveys to collect tissue samples, distribution data and satellite tagging on CLCAC sea country. Tissue samples collected will contribute directly to the current NESP Sawfish project 3.11 “Multi-fishery collaboration to assess population abundances and post-release survival of threatened sawfish in northern Australia”, which is focused on working with the commercial fishing industry. These samples will be used to obtain baseline estimates of sawfish population status required to monitor population trends. Planned Outputs • Catch data from research surveys and/or indigenous ranger programs (Tabular data) • Tissue samples collected by research and or indigenous ranger programs • Final technical report with analysed data and a short summary of recommendations for policy makers of key findings [written]

Dive surveys were conducted in 2014 and the same sites resurveyed annually until 2022 (excluding 2021), to establish a baseline and monitor the status of the critically endangered spotted handfish (Brachionichthys hirsutus) population. This dataset is a summary of all surveys season 2014 to 2022 (excluding 2021) in which the 11 sites across the Derwent Estuary and D'Entrecasteaux Channel were assessed. The data describes the search effort (transect length, swathed area) and counts of handfish observed on each transect, including size measurements (total length) and depth records for each sighted fish.

This record provides an overview of the NESP Marine and Coastal Hub small-scale study - "A pilot study into the movement and dispersal of sawfishes". For specific data outputs from this project, please see child records associated with this metadata. The aim of this project is to test the utility of satellite telemetry to elucidate the movement and dispersal in large sub-adult and adult sawfishes, which are a poorly understood life-history phase of this globally and nationally endangered group. In 2021, research and monitoring surveys carried out by DPIRD (Fisheries WA) will provide a unique opportunity to access larger size classes of sawfishes in northern Western Australia. This project seeks to use this opportunity to generate a preliminary dataset on the suitability of satellite telemetry approaches that will guide future research on this taxon to inform the recovery plan. Planned Outputs • Raw survey dataset • Animal tag gps tracking data • Tissue Sample • Final technical report with analysed data and a short summary of recommendations for policy makers of key findings [written]

This record provides an overview of the NESP Marine and Coastal Hub small scale scoping study: Marine and Coastal Threatened Species and Communities. There are numerous species and ecological communities in Australia’s marine and coastal environments that have formal threatened conservation status. Through a process of targeted reviews, expert elicitation and workshops with end-users, domain experts and others, this project will identify and co-design prospective research projects that best deliver information that will notably improve the status of key selected threatened species in Australia’s marine and coastal environment. Outputs will include summaries of workshops outcomes and a set of co-designed research proposals for submission in future Hub annual research plans. This project also provides the platform for MAC Hub contributions to the Resilient Landscapes Hub Cross-Hub Mission Project 7.0 on Threatened and Migratory Species and Ecological Communities. Planned Outputs • Final technical report recommendations for policy makers of key findings for priority research areas [written]

This record provides an overview of the NESP Marine and Coastal Hub small-scale study - NESP Marine and Coastal Hub scoping study: New approaches to monitoring. Observations of marine species have rapidly diversified over the last decade with increasing numbers of observations collected either through citizen science programs or opportunistically by citizens and then submitted into public databases. The expectation of citizens contributing those data is that the data is incorporated into formal analyses and utilised either for scientific or management purposes, with outcomes that improve current understanding and conservation of marine species. Further, there is increasing reliance on more informal and publicly driven approaches to the collection of observations given the costs of conducting formal surveys particularly if accessing remote regions, or if repetition of collection (across seasons or years) is needed. Integrating opportunistic observations with more formally collected observations (e.g. those collected through robust survey designs), however, is not straightforward. Traditional approaches to estimating population abundance, changes in species assemblages, abundances and distributions through time require some understanding of the effort associated with those observations and how that effort is also distributed through time; information that is missing from opportunistic observations, given the nature of those observations. Further, many opportunistically collected datasets do not meet the statistical assumptions of many analytical approaches that might be applied to scientific datasets. As a result, opportunistic observations are underutilised at present and are largely only used qualitatively within research applications. To take full advantage of this rapidly expanding resource and ensure that efforts associated with the collection of these observations are not wasted, methods that can integrate opportunistically collected data with scientific datasets are needed. This project represents the first stage in developing integrative methods. It will bring together data holders, quantitative ecologists and statisticians to explore potential approaches that might be applied to facilitate the integration of opportunistic datasets with scientific datasets. In doing so, it will identify what datasets might be best suited to the development of integrative approaches (and what might not) and outline a pathway for developing those methods that could be implemented through a future project Planned Outputs • Workshop • Final technical report with analysed data and a short summary of recommendations for policy makers of key findings [written]

This record provides an overview of the NESP Marine and Coastal Hub small-scale study - "Sawfish bycatch mitigation workshop for northern Australian fisheries". The project will coordinate a workshop with state and commonwealth fishery managers, fisheries biologists, researchers, DAWE recovery plan team, NGO’s and traditional owners to understand the issues around sawfish bycatch and develop methods to improve data recording to enable estimates of sawfish catch rates. The long-term goal of the meeting is to develop a nationwide monitoring strategy for sawfish that will enable DAWE to assess the status of sawfish and assess the effectiveness of the recovery plan actions and whether mitigation measures are having an impact on sawfish populations. Outputs • Final technical report with analysed data and a short summary of recommendations for policy makers of key findings [written] • A graphical summary of the workshops was developed by Dr Sue Pillians [images]. These area available under a Creative Commons Non-commerical license.

This record provides an overview of the NESP Marine and Coastal Hub Project ' Innovations To Support Crown-Of-Thorns Starfish Control and the Resilience of the Great Barrier Reef'. For specific data outputs from this project, please see child records associated with this metadata. The Great Barrier Reef (GBR) faces increasing threats from climate-induced mass bleaching, cyclones, and Crown-Of-Thorns Starfish (COTS). To maximise the GBR’s capacity to respond to these threats, it is vital to maintain coral cover and target management actions at the locations that best support the resilience of the GBR. Of the major threats to the GBR, only COTS can currently be directly managed. Australia’s COTS control program has already acted to reduce coral mortality at over 450 reefs. This project will develop innovations that increase the efficiency of COTS control, enabling protection of more reefs and more coral. To maximise the resilience of the GBR, we must target protection to networks of reefs that can function together to rapidly recover from disturbance. This project will build our understanding of the factors and locations that support the resilience of the GBR. The research will be closely partnered to deliver directly to research-users in the COTS Control Program and the Reef Authority. The innovations developed will progress the adaptive management of the resilience of Australia’s marine ecosystems. Planned Outputs • Statistical analysis data • Scooter Assisted Large Area Diver-based (SALAD) • Coral larval dispersal data • Thermal refugia and risk exposure maps • GBR ecological model COTS strategy outputs • Final technical report with analysed data and summary of recommendations for policy makers of key findings [written]

This record provides an overview of the scope and research output of NESP Marine Biodiversity Hub Project A1 - "Northern Australian hotspots for the recovery of threatened euryhaline species". For specific data outputs from this project, please see child records associated with this metadata. Euryhaline elasmobranchs represent over half of the EPBC-listed threatened sharks and rays, with northern Australia of national importance for this threatened species community. Critical information gaps remain, limiting the implementation of Recovery Plan objectives. This project will fill many data gaps through the application of acoustic telemetry, traditional and advanced molecular research (population genetics and close-kin mark-recapture), life history studies and Indigenous knowledge and education. End-users, primarily the Department of the Environment, state and territory fisheries and wildlife agencies, and Indigenous organisations, will be provided with information necessary to improve management and facilitate recovery of these threatened species, focusing on three themes: (1) Monitoring and understanding euryhaline species; (2) Indigenous partnerships for management of euryhaline species, and; (3) Knowledge for the reassessment of river shark status. Planned Outputs • Updated assessment of river shark status • Manuscripts on ecology and status relevant to the management of threatened euryhaline species • Manuscripts on optimal design of acoustic receiver arrays and statistical methods for estimating mortality • Threatened marine species education package for Indigenous communities • Media releases around key field and engagement activities • Data and information outputs of this project will include distribution, extent of occurrence and area of occupancy estimates for key marine species, Indigenous knowledge on key species distribution and occurrence, mortality and survivorship data on key species, the first data on river shark age determination (an essential component of understanding demography), molecular data on population structure and population connectivity of key species, and lower population size estimate for Glyphis garricki. Data will be housed on appropriate explorable databases and made fully available to DOE • Refining the identification of biologically important areas (BIAs) within the NT and WA for threatened euryhaline elasmobranchs (using published BIA protocols)

This record provides an overview of the NESP Marine and Coastal Hub small-scale study "A roadmap for coordinated landscape-scale coastal and marine ecosystem restoration". For specific data outputs from this project, please see child records associated with this metadata. This project aims to develop a roadmap to guide research and investment into landscape-scale coastal and marine restoration. The project brings together interdisciplinary expertise in coastal engineering, decision theory, marine ecology, modelling and ecosystem services to examine decision support needs and opportunities to restore coastal marine ecosystems at scale. The research will focus on the ecosystem services of coastal protection and climate resilience with the recognition that this Nature-based Solution (NbS) approach provides co-benefits such as biodiversity, fisheries production, carbon sequestration, and nutrient cycling. The research will be accomplished through surveys and workshops/meetings with input from key end user groups in industry, NGO, Indigenous and Governmental organisations Planned Outputs • Final technical report with analysed data and a short summary of recommendations for policy makers of key findings [written]