EvoFish back in Tasmania

Four years after the first research visit at the University of Tasmania, Fabian Zimmermann was kindly invited again by the School of Economics and Finance to return to Hobart and strengthen the existing ties. The current collaboration with Dr. Satoshi Yamazaki has resulted in a multi-species model to study the performance of different rebuilding strategies for depleted multi-species fisheries. Multi-species fisheries result in ecological and/or technical interactions between fish stocks and fishing fleets, and therefore their management is particularly challenging. Rebuilding previously overfished stock is often difficult because improvements in one stock may increase predation on or competition with the other stock and therefore hamper its recovery. Such interactions need to be considered in regulation attempts to achieve a successful and efficient rebuilding of depleted fish stocks.

Additionally, Fabian Zimmermann introduced the fellow researchers from the UTAS Business school in a seminar to the newest insights from a current EvoFish study on the impact of gear selectivity on stock evolution and fisheries catch. Despite the tight schedule, there was also some time left to further explore the vast Tasmanian wilderness with its many remote areas and fascinating creatures. Tasmania boasts a wildlife that is unique both in its biodiversity and density, with endemic species such as the Tasmanian Devil, the Eastern Quoll or the Tasmanian Pademelon. A similar situation can be found in the productive marine ecosystems around Tasmania that provide the basis for two of Australia's most important fisheries, the Tasmanian rock lobster and abalone.