Ecological Risk Management

Ecological Risk Assessments for Commonwealth Fisheries

Underpinning the ecological risk management process, AFMA, in collaboration with CSIRO have developed ecological risk assessments (ERAs) for all major Commonwealth managed fisheries. ERAs assess the potential impact, both direct and indirect, a fishery’s activities may have on all aspects of the marine ecosystem and form a large part of our understanding as we move to an ecosystem based fisheries management approach.

AFMA and CSIRO initiated the development of ERAs in 2001, with ERAs for all major Commonwealth managed fisheries completed in 2007. The assessment methodology has adapted traditional risk assessment methods to apply to commercial fishing activities. Impacts posed by a fishery are assessed against five ecological components:

Target species
Bycatch and byproduct species
Threatened, endangered and protected (TEP) species
Habitats
Communities

The assessments categorise the impacts on species, habitats and communities into high, medium or low risk based on their susceptibility to fishing activities and their ability to recover from fishing impacts.

The assessment methodology also uses a hierarchical approach to risk assessment involving:

an initial scoping of the fishery
Level 1 assessment – a comprehensive, qualitative assessment of risks in the fishery
Level 2 assessment – a more focused, semi-quantitative assessment of the risk to species
Level 3 assessment - a highly focused and fully quantitative risk assessment (i.e. a stock assessment)

This approach is a cost and time efficient way of screening activities and identifying key ecological priorities for fisheries management. ERAs for all major Commonwealth managed fisheries have now been completed to Level 2. Completing assessments to this level is seen as an appropriate compromise between certainty in the assessment and the level of resources and time required.

Given the size and complexity of the ERA project, it was undertaken in two phases. Phase one, running from 2001-2004, developed the initial ERA methodology and trialed it on a selection of Commonwealth fisheries. This was followed by a more focused second phase, which ended in June 2007, that refined the methodology to make greater use of fishery specific information and applied the methodology to all major Commonwealth managed fisheries.

The ERAs, as one component of AFMA’s ecological risk management framework, are providing a substantial leap forward in managing sustainable fisheries. This approach is helping to ensure that AFMA remains ‘on the front foot’ with regards to ensuring our fisheries are sustainable, as well as gaining public confidence that Commonwealth fisheries are being properly managed.

Ecological Risk Management

Ecological Risk Assessments for Commonwealth Fisheries

See also