The occurence and distribution of zooplankton species off the east coast of Tasmania was investigated between 1971 and 1973. Samples were collected at stations distributed along three transects extending seaward. Temperature and salinity data was collected at the same time.

Physical and chemical parameters at five Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) growing areas in Tasmania - Pittwater, Pipeclay Lagoon, Little Swanport, Georges Bay and Simpsons Bay - were measured as part of a study to determine the carrying capacity of the areas for oyster farming. The data represented by this record, was collected in Little Swanport. This has provided valuable environmental data for these areas. The hydrodynamic regimes at each area except Simpsons Bay were studied, including high and low water volumes, flushing rates, flow rates and depth contours. Temperature, salinity and concentrations of nitrates, phosphates, silicates and chlorophyll a were measured monthly at several sites in each area. The change in these parameters over different time scales also was examined at two sites in Pittwater and indicated temporal and spatial variability in the environmental parameters measured.

This report provides an assessment of the social and economic status and performance of Tasmanian fisheries and aquaculture, 2017/18 to 2020/21. Tasmania’s fisheries and aquaculture sectors (i.e., commercial, recreational and Tasmanian Aboriginal businesses and users) are important parts of the Tasmanian economy and broader community and generate a diverse range of social and economic benefits. Achieving economic and social benefits from marine resources is an objective of fisheries and marine farming (aquaculture) management in Tasmania, as outlined in the Living Marine Resources Management Act 1995 (hereafter referred to as LMRMA) and the Marine Farming Planning Act 1995 (hereafter referred to as the MFPA). The indicators used in this assessment reflect this legislative objective as well as best-practice (for example, see NOAA Fisheries Socioeconomics, PIRSA Social and Economic Assessments). They were chosen to be relevant to managing sector-wide and community outcomes from these fisheries and aquaculture activities. This report does not attempt to benchmark performance. It is intended to inform industry and sector representative organisations, government agencies with policy and regulatory responsibilities, other marine research groups, and interested members of the Tasmanian community, of social and economic outcomes and change in those outcomes across time. This is the first assessment report of this type. It follows from an initial pilot assessment of Tasmanian fisheries (Ogier et al. 2018) and is intended to be one of a series. The period of time covered by this assessment (2017/18 - 2020/21) encompasses both the period prior to and across the COVID-19 pandemic. The impacts of the pandemic on economic and social indicators for these sectors is therefore captured. This assessment encompasses commercial, recreational, and Tasmanian Aboriginal community sectors using managed marine resources. The findings are based on a range of assessment and research activities undertaken by the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS) of the University of Tasmania. Specific fisheries and aquaculture sectors assessed are: Tasmanian Abalone Fishery, Tasmanian Giant Crab Fishery, Tasmanian Rock Lobster Fishery, Tasmanian Scalefish Fishery, Tasmanian Scallop Fishery, Tasmanian Abalone Aquaculture, Tasmanian Pacific Oyster Aquaculture and Tasmanian Salmonid Aquaculture.

The Aqua and Orbview satellites carry a MODIS and SeaWIFS sensors (respectively) that observes sunlight reflected from within the ocean surface layer at multiple wavelengths. These multi-spectral measurements are used to infer the concentration of chlorophyll-a (Chl-a), most typically due to phytoplankton, present in the water. There are multiple retrieval algorithms for estimating Chl-a and aggregating the data over time. This data set is a reprocessed copy of 9km monthly and 8-day versions produced globally by NASA, adjusted for the Southern Ocean south of latitude 30S. The full methodology is described in Johnson, R., Strutton, P.G., Wright, S.W., McMinn, A., Meiners, K.M., 2013. Three improved satellite chlorophyll algorithms for the Southern Ocean. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans. doi: 10.1002/jgrc.20270. It is expected that the data set will be periodically updated with contemporary data as it becomes available. There are four sub-streams within this data set. A monthly and an 8-day series for MODIS/Aqua and similarly for SeaWIFS. Note that SeaWIFS ceased operation in late 2010 so there will be no further SeaWIFS data. The data represented by this record is monthly data for SeaWIFS.

A 12-month program was developed and implemented in order to obtain baseline information on water quality (salinity, water temperature, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, pH, dissolved nutrients, silica), ecological condition as shown by Chlorophyll a, benthic macroinvertebrates, pathogens, and habitat extent determined from habitat mapping. Five key estuaries and coastal waters were assessed in the Southern NRM Region of Tasmania. The data represented by this record was collected in Moulting Lagoon/Great Swanport.

A 12-month program was developed and implemented in order to obtain baseline information on water quality (salinity, water temperature, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, pH, dissolved nutrients, silica), ecological condition as shown by Chlorophyll a, benthic macroinvertebrates, pathogens, and habitat extent determined from habitat mapping. Five key estuaries and coastal waters were assessed in the Southern NRM Region of Tasmania. The data represented by this record was collected in North West Bay.

NESP Marine Biodiversity Hub Project C2 involved integration and analysis of three existing monitoring datasets: the Reef Life Survey (RLS), IMAS Long-term MPA (LTMPA), and AIMS Long-term (AIMS LTM) monitoring programs. These analyses involved generating new derived data on indicator values for survey sites in each of the datasets, which have been reported in the 2016 State of the Environment (SoE) report. Indicators included the biomass of large fishes, the community temperature index, the proportion of invasive species, crown-of-thorns seastar density and the proportion of threatened species. Details of calculation of these indicators and summary of trends in values across sites and times are provided in detail in a manuscript currently in the review process for an international journal [RSS to provide publication details once available], as well as in metadata supplied for the State of the Environment report. This metadata record provides links to each of the three datasets used in the synthesis, and links to access the derived biological indicator data reported in the 2016 SoE report. See "On-Line Resources" section.

Bathymetry flythrough of Perth Canyon using data acquired by Schmidt Ocean Institute in 2015 on RV Falkor (University of Western Australia et al.). The flythrough highlights geomorphic features mapped by Geoscience Australia, including landslides, escarpments and bedform fields and biodiversity associated with the canyon (benthic and pelagic). Produced as a science communication product for the Marine Biodiversity Hub (National Environmental Science Program). This research is supported by the National Environmental Science Program (NESP) Marine Biodiversity Hub through Project D1.