International Symposium on Cephalopod Lifecycles:
biology, management & conservation
Natalie Moltschaniwskyj, Gretta Pecl, George Jackson, & Jayson
Semmens
International Cephalopod Symposium 2006
2005/307 International Symposium on Cephalopod Lifecycles:
biology, management, & conservation
Principal Investigator:
Dr Natalie Moltschaniwskyj
Address:
School of Aquaculture
Tasmanian Aquaculture and Fisheries Institute
University of Tasmania
Locked Bag 1370
Launceston 7250
Telephone: 03 63243802
Fax: 03 63243804
1. Objectives
1. To host the Seventh Triennial Symposium of the Cephalopod International
Advisory Council (CIAC) in February 2006.
2. To publish a special volume in an international journal that will provide a
series of leading benchmark publications in the field of cephalopod biology
and fisheries management.
2. Non-Technical Summary
Outcomes Achieved
Hosting this international symposium in Australia provided the opportunity to
increase the international recognition of the depth and breadth of expertise and
experience of cephalopod biologists and ecologists in Australia. This was evidenced
by the contribution made by Australians at this symposium (27% of the oral
presentations and 9% of the posters).
This was one of the largest CIAC symposia run with 181 registered delegates, with
representatives from 26 countries presenting 179 abstracts (oral and posters). This
meant that this meeting was a major contributor in facilitating the exchange of state of
the art research and information among international cephalopod biologists.
Australia was a major contributor to the Management and Conservation Session, with
69% of the oral presentations. This session occupied three quarters of a day and
included fisheries scientists from most states in Australia (Tasmania, South Australia,
New South Wales and Queensland) and the Commonwealth.
A total of 41 publications are being reviewed for inclusion in the special volume of
Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries; with 25% of contributions from Australian
scientists.
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International Cephalopod Symposium 2006
The University of Tasmania was invited to host the 7th triennial symposium of the
Cephalopod International Advisory Council (CIAC) in February 2006. This is the
premier international cephalopod symposium attended by scientists, industry, and
managers from around the world.
The ‘International Symposium on Cephalopod Lifecycles: biology, management &
conservation” was held from February 6-10 2006 at the Hotel Grand Chancellor in
Hobart, Tasmania. The symposium was attended by 181 delegates from 26 countries,
with 179 abstracts submitted for oral or poster presentations. A total of 82 oral
presentations were delivered.
In the tradition of CIAC symposia there was a single session, highlighting the generic
interests of cephalopod biologists and the recognition that research of cephalopods has
traditionally encompassed a range of biological disciplines.
The four days of oral presentations covered a range of areas relevant to cephalopod
biology including; Movement & Migration, Systematic & Biogeography, Early Life
History, Reproductive Biology & Ecology, Management & Conservation. Keynote
speakers were invited to present topics in areas that were considered to be highly
relevant to cephalopod biology and ecology, such as trophic linkages (Dr Yves
Cherel) and fisheries management (Dr Marek Lipinski).
A poster session on one evening recognised the value of the presentation medium,
with several posters employing technology to communicate concepts and ideas. The
winning student poster employed 3-dimensional computer graphics to portray and
explain the complex morphology of these soft bodied molluscs.
The Symposium was opened by the Governor of Tasmania, His Excellency, the
Honorable Mr William Cox, AC RFD ED. In his welcoming address His Excellency
highlighted the contribution that Tasmanian scientists and graduate students are
making to cephalopod biology and particular how this science is being taken up by
fisheries managers.
Worldwide catches of cephalopods are increasing; this contrasts with the trend of
declining finfish fisheries worldwide. However, it is acutely evident that applying
finfish management models to these unique molluscs is inappropriate. There is
increasing need to develop new management models that are built upon the
worldwide expertise of cephalopod biologists and fisheries managers.
This
symposium addresses the Australian Government’s national research and technology
priority of ‘An Environmentally Sustainable Australia - Sustainable use of Australia’s
biodiversity’.
Fisheries biologists and managers from Australia represented States (NSW, South
Australia, Queensland, and Tasmania) and Commonwealth cephalopod fisheries,
providing a useful perspective on the state of knowledge of these fisheries.
Contributed talks from international fisheries biologists also provided recent and new
approaches in modelling squid stocks and issues facing fisheries biologists in other
countries.
Keywords: squid, cuttlefish, octopus, conference
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International Cephalopod Symposium 2006
Table of Contents
1. OBJECTIVES.................................................................................................................................... 2
2. NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY..................................................................................................... 2
3. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.................................................................................................................. 5
4. BACKGROUND................................................................................................................................ 6
5. NEED.................................................................................................................................................. 6
6. BENEFITS ......................................................................................................................................... 7
7. FURTHER DEVELOPMENT ......................................................................................................... 7
8. PLANNED OUTCOMES.................................................................................................................. 7
9. CONCLUSIONS................................................................................................................................ 8
10. APPENDIX 1: .................................................................................................................................. 8
11. APPENDIX 2: .................................................................................................................................. 8
12. APPENDIX 3: .................................................................................................................................. 9
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3. Acknowledgments
Attaining an international standard in the organisation, planning and production of a
conference could only be achieved with the generous support of sponsors. We would
like to thank the principal sponsor The Australian Government’s Fisheries Research
and Development Corporation. Other major sponsors included The Tasmanian
Aquaculture and Fisheries Institute, and the University of Tasmania.
We would like to thank Conference Design for their management and planning of the
Conference and the staff and students of the Tasmanian Aquaculture and Fisheries
Institute who handled all the ‘behind the scenes’ activities to ensure the smooth
running of this conference.
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International Cephalopod Symposium 2006
4. Background
TAFI and IASOS were invited to host the 7th triennial symposium of the Cephalopod
International Advisory Council (CIAC) in February 2006. This is the premier
international cephalopod symposium attended by scientists, industry and managers
from around the world. It was a significant honour for Australia to be hosting such an
event.
Tasmania currently has one of the largest active cephalopod research groups in the
world. Over the past six years this team has made significant advances in the fields of
squid biology and fisheries management, octopus biology and telemetry, physiology
of cephalopods, and the age, growth and population dynamics of squids. Cephalopod
research projects completed in this period (funded by FRDC, ARC, DPIWE & private
funds) represents well over $3,000,000 of funding. This reputation has generated
keen interest from overseas scientists to attend the symposium in Tasmania and view
facilities and activities here. This provided Australia with a unique opportunity to
showcase the significant advances that we have made in cephalopod fisheries biology.
The Cephalopod International Advisory Council (CIAC) is an international non-profit
organisation dedicated to promoting cephalopod science and coordinating discussion
and debate on critical issues relating to fisheries, management, and conservation
around the world. CIAC is the only broadly representative international professional
body of squid, octopus, and cuttlefish scientists. The CIAC international symposium
is a scientific gathering of leading marine scientists from around the globe, including
Australia. These scientists are from major international and national universities, and
government authorities from every continent. Many sit on numerous international
governmental and industry advisory panels, and influence many areas of international
science.
The last conference held in Thailand in Feb 2003 was attended by 180 delegates.
5. Need
In Australia and internationally, catches of cephalopods are increasing which is a
dramatic contrast to the trend of declining finfish fisheries worldwide. Industry
meetings in Australia (Tasmania and Commonwealth) and internationally repeatedly
identify the lack of information available about how to manage cephalopod fisheries.
It is clear that we need to identify appropriate management strategies to use for shortlived species such as cephalopods.
This symposium explicitly focused on
management and conservation issues that need to be addressed in the context of the
short life-spans, limited reproductive period and fast growth typical of cephalopods.
The CIAC Symposia provided a valuable forum to bring together expertise from a
range of sectors including academics, fisheries researchers, and managers to
addressing management and conservation issues.
Within the theme of “Cephalopod lifecycles: biology, conservation and management”
there were a series of sessions that addressed issues related to cephalopods and their
relevance in a broader marine biological framework particularly with respect to
conservation relevant to coastal and ocean ecosystems.
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6. Benefits
Hosting CIAC ’06 produced the following benefits:
-
Increased the exposure of Australian scientists on the international arena
Provided the opportunity for interaction between industry, managers, applied
researchers, and pure researchers.
Increased opportunities to develop international collaborations.
Increased exposure of managers to relevant R&D outputs leading to increased
adoption
7. Further Development
The next meeting will held in Vigo, Spain in 2009. It will be important for Australian
cephalopod scientists to continue to attend these meetings to ensure that new
technologies and approaches can be adopted and to continue the high profile of
Australian science internationally.
The EU has a long history of supporting cephalopod research and cephalopod
fisheries currently have an important role in the economy. More recent focus has
been on aquaculture of Octopus, potentially opening up many new areas for
collaborations.
8. Planned outcomes
It is still too early to fully assess the outcomes from the symposium.
a) Development of strategic alliances between Australia and other key international
research centres, fishing management bodies, and educational institutions.
There is early evidence that collaborative projects are being developed between
Australian and international scientists, however, the development of the projects will
be dependent upon funding being obtained.
However, the involvement of
international collaborations involving Australian scientists is testimony to the quality
of the science being done in Australia.
SquidMAC took advantage of having access to international scientists and fisheries
biologists to have a meeting to discuss issues relating to arrow squid. The result of
this meeting was a list of R&D priorities (Appendix 3)
b) The application and incorporation of new scientific findings into future research
activities and projects addressing issues relevant to cephalopod fisheries and
management in Australia.
Too early to assess, however, there were a number of presentations involving new
techniques and approaches that have the capacity to be incorporated into new projects
eg isotope analysis, microchemistry, numerical models.
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c) Increased use and adoption of research outpiuts, leading to improved management
of cephalopod resources.
A total of 41 publications are being reviewed for inclusion in the special volume of
Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries; with 25% contributions by Australian
scientists. Citation rates of these papers can only be assessed several years after
publication.
d) Increased international recognition of the depth and breadth of expertise and
experience of cephalopod biologists and ecologists in Australia.
Given the high rate of contribution of Australian scientists to the oral presentations
and manuscripts submitted for inclusion into the special volume there can be no
doubting that this has increased the international recognition of cephalopod science in
Australia.
Additionally, continued representation of Australians on the CIAC Council is
continuing with the election of Dr Jayson Semmens onto Council (Dr Natalie
Moltschaniwskyj finished her two year term of office) and the election of Dr Gretta
Pecl to Executive Secretary of the CIAC Council.
Australian scientists (Drs Semmens, Jackson and Moltschaniwskyj) are also taking a
leadership role in production of review manuscripts involving large numbers of
international co-authors, as a result of involvement with workshops prior the
Symposium.
9. Conclusions
Overall the impression by the organising committee was that the symposium was an
overwhelming success. This is judged qualitatively based on a full oral presentation
program, the very high number of posters, the high proportion of delegates present at
the sessions, and the positive verbal feedback from delegates.
This provided a unique opportunity for Australian cephalopod scientists to access the
international community, and the high participation by Australians in oral and poster
presentations. Satisfactory progress is being made with the review process of
manuscripts submitted for publication in the special volume of Review of Fish Biology
and Fisheries.
10. Appendix 1:
Not applicable
11. Appendix 2:
The conference committee (including organising and scientific) included:
Natalie Moltschaniwskyj – TAFI – Aquaculture
Gretta Pecl – TAFI – Marine Research Laboratories
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George Jackson – IASOS – University of Tasmania
Jayson Semmens – TAFI – Marine Research Laboratories
Michael Steer – SARDI
Malcolm Dunning – QDPI
Conference Design was selected to manage the conference logistics, and particularly
the finances.
12. Appendix 3:
Meeting between SquidMAC Members and international
experts who attended the Cephalopod Symposium
Hobart
8 February 2006
Participants:
Mr Duncan Leadbitter
Dr George Jackson
Mr Phil Domaschenz
Dr Marek Lipinski
Dr Alexander Arkhipkin
Dr Taro Ichii Ph D
Professor Yasunori Sakurai Ph D
Dr Mitsuo Sakai Ph D
Dr Chih-Shin Chen Ph D
Ms Yvonne Zunic
SquidMAC Chair
Research Member, SquidMAC
AFMA Member, SquidMAC
Senior Specialist Scientist: Cephalopods, South
African Dept of Environment & Tourism
Fisheries Scientist, Falkland Islands Fisheries
Department
Section Chief, Oceanic Squid Section,
Japanese National Research Institute of Far
Seas Fisheries
Graduate School of Fisheries Sciences,
Hokkaido University, Japan
Research Scientist, Oceanic Squid Section,
Japanese National Research Institute of Far
Seas Fisheries
Technical
Specialist,
National
Taiwan
University, Institute of Fishery Biology
SquidMAC Executive Officer
The meeting with squid experts from Japan, the Falkland Islands, South Africa and
Taiwan was organized by George Jackson on behalf of SquidMAC to review stock
assessment options for arrow squid targeted in the Southern Squid Jig Fishery.
Duncan Leadbitter commenced proceedings by providing an overview of the Fishery
noting that this is a small fishery with low research funding available. Phil
Domaschenz provided further background on the fishery noting:
•
•
the fishery has operated since 1987 with most of the fishing effort centered off
Portland and Queenscliff
operators generally only fish overnight
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•
•
•
•
•
•
•
1700 tonnes catch last year valued at $1.9m
80 licences last year with 20 boats operating but only 14 of those who fished
more than 30 days
30 percent of squid bycatch from the Commonwealth trawl sectors
the low price ($1.80) for arrow squid and the marketing issue
Arrow squid possibly significantly underfished species
effort control by limiting number of squid jig machines
trigger point of 4,000 tonnes based on half the highest catch historically
recorded by the Japanese.
George Jackson briefed participants on the biology of arrow squid noting the
following:
•
•
•
•
•
lots of spawning happening and tend to live whole life cycle on the shelf
no evidence to indicate that they migrate
highest catches occur Feb – May
mixed cohorts
size structure of squid caught right around Tasmania is very variable with
distribution right across southern Australia particularly off Victoria around
Portland but we don’t know why
Duncan Leadbitter highlighted the potential expansion of effort in this fishery and
whether a better management tool than the current catch driven threshold could be
identified.
Dr Lipinski considered that given that information on arrow squid is scattered, that
this species is not under threat, and given their very variable spawning, any stock
assessment would provide a weak answer. He suggested that one option could be
to develop indicators as used by the Japanese but highlighted that more research
would be required to establish these indicators. He suggested that this information
could be obtained through the issuing of experimental licenses to undertake a
demersal survey or acoustic survey.
Dr Taro Ichii advised that the Japanese fisheries agency estimate the size and
abundance of each year’s biomass by undertaking paralarval surveys. Recruitment
size is based on experimental jigging in July each year with a view to obtaining an
estimate of the abundance of winter spawning by estimating the egg variation per
mass and fishing mortality. By estimating the number of parents in the biomass, a
decision can then be made on the total allowable catch.
Participants discussed the need for information on squid mortality where there is little
information currently available and that this could be recorded if structured properly
which would mean collecting data over a number of seasons. Robust biological data
in a certain area which is considered critical to the fishery could then be correlated
with fishing mortality.
Dr Arkhipkin considered that a synoptical area sweep method as used by the
Japanese could potentially assist in estimating the arrow squid stock. Two months of
research by way of an experimental license to undertake a large survey of the area
and perhaps smaller surveys in concentrated areas could potentially pinpoint the
areas where arrow squid are prevalent. The number of surveys would be dependant
on the amount of funding available.
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Mr Leadbitter raised the issue of how easily information could be accessed from
historical data between 1978 and 1984 when the Japanese conducted intensive
squid fishing operations in Australian waters.
Participants agreed that the main priorities were to:
•
Investigate and examine data from foreign fishing during the 1970’s and 1980’s
•
Formally request historical biological and other data for the years between 19781984 when the Japanese conducted intensive fishing operations for squid in
Australian waters by writing to the Ministry of Fisheries in Japan and asking what
type of information they would be able to provide.
•
Investigate potential options for various surveys to obtain the best biological
information through an area sweep method to calculate possible abundance of
squid. This survey should be carefully planned to get an index of abundance by
looking at how many surveys would be required to get the required information
and at what time of the year;
•
Review the Commonwealth trawl data relationship
•
Contact relevant State Government agencies to establish what relevant survey
data they could provide, e.g. paralarval data from the pilchard survey, mapping
data and jig fishing data off New South Wales, oceanographic data, temperature
data.
•
Gain a better understanding of oceanography and where upwellings occur
•
Investigate whether indicators can be developed and correlated with fishing
industry factors
•
Acquire and process data from Kepala Cruise which will provide 18 months of jig
data.
Duncan Leadbitter
SquidMAC Chair
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