Oral Presentation Australian Society for Fish Biology & Australian Freshwater Sciences Society Conference 2026

Overcoming the challenges facing harvest strategy development in complex data- and capacity-limited fisheries (145647)

Ashley M Fowler 1 , Natalie A Dowling 2 , Julian M Hughes 1 , Justin D Bell 3 , Paul Burch 2 , Jason M Cope 4 , Katie A Cresswell 5 , Emily A Fisher 6 , Alex Hesp 6 , Nicholas J Hill 7 , Stephen J Newman 6 , Craig J Noell 8 , Sean Pascoe 9 , Kristin Privitera-Johnson 10 , Blake Taylor 11 , Michael Usher 11 , Shane Walters 6 , Samuel J Williams 12 , Brent S Wise 13 , Rowan C Chick 13
  1. NSW DPIRD Fisheries, Sydney
  2. CSIRO Environment, Hobart
  3. Victorian Fisheries Authority, Queenscliff
  4. NOAA Fisheries, Seattle
  5. IMAS, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
  6. WA DPIRD, Perth
  7. The Pacific Community, Noumea
  8. SARDI, Adelaide
  9. CSIRO Environment, St Lucia
  10. CSIRO Environment, Hobart
  11. NT DITT, Darwin
  12. Qld DAF, Brisbane
  13. NSW DPIRD Fisheries, Port Stephens

Harvest strategies (HS) are increasingly being applied to data- and capacity-limited (DCL) fisheries in response to declining stocks and the need for more prescriptive and proactive management. Such fisheries often involve the complexities of multiple target species, multiple sectors and changing environmental conditions. These interact with DC limitations to create a spectrum of additional challenges for HS development, with location on the spectrum dependent on the characteristics of the fishery being considered. Most fisheries in Australia are DCL and experience one or more of these complexities and their associated challenges, with little guidance available for overcoming them when developing HSs. As part of a broader research project, we reviewed the additional challenges facing HS development in ‘complex’ DCL fisheries and identified those that are common in Australian DCL fisheries. The challenges affected all areas of HS development, including stakeholder interactions, setting of reference points, trade-offs among competing fishery objectives, and selection of core HS components. We provide HS practitioners with an efficient means for identifying these potential challenges and explore potential solutions for HS development based on the nature and extent of DC limitations.