11-year reef fishing experiment wraps up

9 December 2005

After a start surrounded in heated debate in Federal Parliament and the press, field work for the Effects of Line Fishing (ELF) experiment has ended with researchers having spent over 600 days in the past 11 years in the field. Spanning more than 1000 kilometres of the GBR, including reefs open and closed to fishing, the ELF experiment is one of the largest fisheries experiment undertaken anywhere in the world. The effort has been worth it with essential information on GBR fisheries already coming out of the experiment according to founder and former leader of the project, Professor Bruce Mapstone.

The ELF experiment, being carried out by researchers from CRC Reef, the Australian Institute of Marine Science, James Cook University, Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries and CSIRO, is gathering vital information on how fishing affects the number and size of fish on the GBR.

‘The completion of the final monitoring surveys for the ELF experiment marks the end of a major stage of the research,’ said Prof Mapstone. ‘However, it is just the beginning of perhaps the most productive phase of the experiment. It is only now that we have all the data available to complete the exploration of the questions that were asked of us over 11 years ago.’

‘When we started this experiment back in 1995 we could not have predicted some of the highs and lows that the experiment would face, including political debate, cyclones, international reviews, the live fish trade, or rezoning of the entire GBR. One of the real highs has been the support we have received from the many stakeholders in the fishery such as fishers, managers, conservationists and the general public. This has shown us that we were on the right track’ Prof. Mapstone said.

The ELF experiment was prompted by calls from managers for improved information on the sustainability of reef line fishing on the GBR back in the late 1980’s. The experiment was designed around 24 reefs located in four regions between Lizard Island and the Swains reefs. The aim of the experiment was to investigate the effects of different amounts of fishing pressure on fish stocks and related ecosystems, achieved by temporarily opening and closing reefs to fishing over an 11 year period.

‘It has also been most pleasing to see that the information we have been collecting over the past 11 years has already proved of value in the development of two important plans of management for the GBR World Heritage Area and the reef line fishery. I am sure this will continue as we can now look at the effectiveness of management strategies for GBR fisheries into the future, ‘Prof. Mapstone said. ‘Investment into the research by the CRC Reef Research Centre, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, and the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation has proven to be money well spent.’

‘Another real benefit from the ELF experiment has been the opportunity for several young fisheries scientists to develop their skills in a truly collaborative environment where they work with fishers and managers to solve some really important fishery and conservation issues. Six outstanding young scientists have completed their PhDs directly from the experiment to date and several other have graduated from the research group having researched related subjects. These progressive researchers are now placed in management and fisheries research institutions around Australia and the world.’

‘The ELF Experiment has allowed us to look at a range of important commercial and by-catch fish species on the Reef. Our research so far has shown that reefs closed to fishing can have more and larger coral trout and red throat emperor than those where fishing is allowed. Coral trout populations in areas open to fishing are predicted to remain at levels generally considered acceptable for a harvestable stocks.’ Prof. Mapstone said.

For the researchers the hard work continues as they start final analysis of the large amounts of data collected over the past 11 years. ‘The final outputs from the experiment, in the form of a final report and numerous other publications, are still some way off given the scope of the analysis to be completed, but the benefits from the experiment are already apparent and we hope will continue to flow for some years.’ Prof. Mapstone said.

The Effects of Line Fishing Experiment is a collaborative effort between CRC Reef, the Australian Institute of Marine Science, James Cook University, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, CSIRO and the fishing industry.

Media Contacts:

Dr Annabel Jones, Liaison Officer CRC Reef Research Centre 07 4781 6365/ 0408 884 521; Annabel.jones@jcu.edu.au

For more information about the ELF Experiment visit the CRC Reef website at http://www.reef.crc.org.au/research/fishing_fisheries/elf.html

Fisheries research photos are available with this release please contact Annabel Jones at CRC Reef Research Centre 07 4781 6365/ 0408 884 521; Annabel.jones@jcu.edu.au