The head of Australia’s top fisheries think tank has warned politicians must pay more attention to scientific evidence when making management decisions.
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC) executive director, Dr Patrick Hone, last week launched an ambitious five-year plan, setting out the research and development priorities for fisheries and aquaculture.
The plan sets targets including increasing the sector’s value by 20 per cent per year, from $2.4 billion to $3.2 billion by 2020.
Dr Hone said research and development, when done correctly, could underpin increased growth and value in fisheries resources.
But he said, communities would be better served if those resources were managed with the benefit of evidence-based decisions, citing the recent example of Queensland’s net free zones.
“If we look at nets, our observations of the media and the conversations around nets in Queensland is that is really hasn’t been based on a good understanding of how well nets work, how selective they are, what a very efficient and low-cost way they are of catching fish,” Dr Hone said.
“And so, it’s been a pity that the science of nets has not really come to the fore.”
Regional challenges in common
Under the plan, regions would, for the first time, be given an opportunity to forge the direction of research and development priorities, as the FRDC sought to find ‘commonality’ of issues and build collaborative links across regions.
Dr Hone said more attention could be directed to exploiting opportunities from charter fishing and fishing tourism, as well as using recent trade agreements with China, Japan, and Korea as a platform to “expand the footprint of Australia’s exports”.
“Whether it’s a resource allocation issue, climate variability or change issue, an understanding of the stock issue, we can often find things in common, so we can help people build a (research and development) program,” he said.
“One of the things I think we have probably not done enough in fishing and aquaculture, is to try to work out how do we actually build better experiences for recreational fishers, improvements for Indigenous communities, and for the commercial sector.”
Sound science drives economic growth
Acknowledging the target of increasing the sector’s value by 20 per cent a year as “ambitious”, Dr Hone said research and development had a key role to play in driving business productivity and profitability.
He cited Atlantic salmon, western rock lobster, and prawn farming as success stories in which economic growth was underpinned by good science and sound management decisions.
“There are examples of industry if you get the science right, if the management is implemented with the fishers, you get a very strong economic outcome,” he said.
2015 ABC