The South East Fishery is one of Australia's oldest fisheries. Early resear
ch on this trawl fishery centred on tiger flathead, the major target specie
s. In the 1970s, the Federal Government actively encouraged fishery develop
ment and funded several trawl surveys. Profitable catch rates and optimisti
c assessments of resource size caused a rapid expansion of the trawl fleet.
Separate jurisdictions hampered strategic approaches to SEF-wide research
until 1978. Most SEF research in the mid 1960s to mid 1980s was conducted b
y State fisheries agencies, but federal involvement increased thereafter. A
management shift in 1992 to Individual Transferable Quotas saw stock asses
sment become the major research priority. Industry involvement in the stock
assessment process has increased markedly over the past decade and communi
cation between scientists, managers and industry has improved. Predictive m
odels are still limited by poor biological data for most quota species. Sto
ck assessment uncertainty necessitates the increasing use of risk assessmen
ts and management strategy evaluation. Assessment scientists are frustrated
by limited resources for research and the perceived reluctance of managers
to adopt more precautionary approaches to uncertainty. Since ITQ managemen
t, fishing effort has risen significantly and concerns have been expressed
about the stock status of several SEF species. Recent federal environmental
legislation is now directing more attention towards effects of fishing and
resource sustainability issues.