A fishery biologist’s journey with industry and management

Abstract:  

In this talk I outline some of the research work I’ve been involved in over the years, and how it has related to (and hopefully contributed to) a better understanding of the dynamic processes within both the natural resources being harvested (the fish), the industry doing the harvesting (the fishers) and the agency tasked with ensuring the resource doesn’t collapse from over-exploitation (the regulators). For these dynamic regimes to interact sustainably requires rules and regulations, the development, application and enforcement of which is usually the domain of a governmental agency and is referred to as ‘fishery management’. Unlike many terrestrial systems where the components are visible and often sedentary, fishes (in the broadest sense) are typically cryptic and mobile, and those who exploit them are often suspicious of management and lacking trust in the authorities. This makes effective management far from straightforward.  

Today I will touch on some of the management-related research issues my projects have addressed. These include estimating the growth rates of spanner crabs and a suite of important tropical fin-fish species; estimating the survival of discarded line-caught reef fish; and determining the need for and timing of a ‘spawning closure’ in the spanner crab fishery. I will highlight the problems that have needed the expertise and skills of mathematicians (statisticians, biometricians and modellers in particular), and stress the immense value of communication with the people ‘on the ground’ or, most importantly in this area of work, ‘on the water’!

Biography:

Born in Brisbane, Ian Brown grew up in a small rural town on the NSW tablelands and later moved to Sydney where he studied for a B.Sc. at Sydney University (1966). After gaining a Masters’ degree here at UQ (1969) and desiring some financial independence he found employment as a Scientific Officer with the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife in Melbourne, working primarily on the first ecological study of Port Phillip Bay. During his decade with the Victorian Government he gained a Ph.D. at Monash University (1978) and was seconded for three years as a Fisheries Adviser to the Government of Fiji by the Commonwealth Secretariat (London). After returning from the tropics to the depths of a cold Melbourne winter, Ian and his family chose to live in warmer climes, and he took up a posting the following year as a prawn biologist with the (then) Fisheries Division of the Department of Harbours and Marine, later to become Dept of Primary Industries.

He was soon assigned the task of finding out about spanner crabs (Ranina ranina), a curious and tasty offshore species which was starting to attract the attention of the fishing industry in southern Queensland. A significant part of his subsequent time as a research scientist with Fisheries Queensland was spent designing and conducting investigations into important aspects of the biology, behaviour and biodynamics of spanner crabs, which included interacting with crab fishers and the regulating authorities to develop a coherent management plan for the emerging fishery. After his retirement in 2013, Ian retains a keen interest in this species, and was on the Steering Committee of the recent FQ/UQ FRDC project (based in the Centre for Applied Resource Management) investigating the effects of oceanographic factors on populations of pink snapper (Pagrus auratus) and spanner crabs. He is the independent scientist member of Fisheries Queensland’s Spanner Crab Fishery Working Group and is currently conducting some un-funded and challenging research into the reproductive cycle and growth of this interesting crustacean species.