CSIRO enviromental monitoring extends to land, air and sea.

Fish for the future: aquatic resources monitoring and modelling

Managing Australia’s valuable aquatic and marine resources so they have a long term future is aided by reliable information based on CSIRO’s research in environmental statistics.

• 17 August 2009 | Updated 14 October 2011

• Key science issues
• How CSIRO addresses these issues
• Aquatic resources monitoring and modelling

Australians love seafood. According to the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA), we eat about 16 kilograms of fish and seafood per person each year.

Fisheries are also multi-billion dollar industries in Australia – worth more than A$2.2 billion to the economy annually. Managing these resources for a long term future requires timely and relevant information.

Statisticians can help fisheries managers by modelling the abundance of key marine species to help make important decisions about catch quotas, season length and more.

Key science issues

Australia needs good science to assess, protect, enhance and develop its extensive aquatic assets and marine resources, and the key industries that rely on them.

How CSIRO addresses these issues

CSIRO’s statisticians and marine scientists work closely to provide resource managers with the information they need to deliver economically sustainable fisheries, while protecting the underlying ecosystems.

Aquatic resources monitoring and modelling

Our team uses specialist skills in statistics and a unique approach to develop methods that integrate survey design and modelling.

Our contributions to fishery sustainability are made through innovative approaches to fish stock assessment and stock monitoring techniques. They are underpinned by statistical technologies that:

• incorporate measures of uncertainty
• operate at a wide range of spatial and temporal scales
• accommodate multiple target species.

We are working on valuable national and international fisheries and provide information to the organisations that manage them.

Fisheries include:

• Southern Bluefin Tuna Fishery
• Northern Prawn Fishery.

We also develop and apply ways of estimating the abundance and population structure of whales and related species in collaboration with the Australian Antarctic Division for the International Whaling Commission.

Learn more about CSIRO's work in Oceans.