Using a telephone/diary survey methodology information about recreational fishing activity for rock lobster and abalone in Tasmania is monitored over a fishing season, with surveys conducted biennially. Information reported includes: date, location (fishing regions), method (pot, ring, dive), target species and catch (numbers of lobster and/or abalone). Sampling is linked to the recreational licensing database, managed by the state government.

The data is quantitative abundance of fish and megafaunal invertebrates and algal % cover derived from transect based counts at a wide range of locations across Temperate Australia. The methods are described in detail in Edgar and Barrett (1997). Primarily the data are derived from transects at 5 m depth and/or 10 m depth at each site surveyed. Methods were initially developed for research on temporal changes following protection in Tasmanian MPAs (Maria Is, Tinderbox, Ninepin Point, Governor Island). The data represented by this record was collected in MPA studies and surveys interstate, and was collected from Esperence to Albany (WA). In many cases the dataset involved temporal replication (year scale).

The spatial extent of C. rodgersii "barrens" was estimated by surveying rocky reef habitat with a towed underwater video system. Sampling took place at 13 regions along the east coast of Tasmania, each comprising 3 subsites, this dataset refers to the Bicheno region, and its 3 subsites: Denison, Governor Island and Lodi.

A comparison was made of sediments and associated macrobenthos at sites sampled within 42 fish farm leases distributed across Tasmania. Several key biotic and abiotic metrics recommended in previous studies for assessing environmental impacts of fish farm waste were investigated.

The spatial extent of C. rodgersii "barrens" was estimated by surveying rocky reef habitat with a towed underwater video system. Sampling took place at 13 regions along the east coast of Tasmania, each comprising 3 subsites, this dataset refers to the Fortescue Bay region, and its 3 subsites: Lanterns, Munroe Bight and Thumbs.

Stable isotope data, fatty acid and diet data was collected from a number of predator species in the southern ocean. Data was collected from blood, blubber, feathers and whisker samples

Inter-moult duration in giant crabs (Pseudocarcinus gigas) was estimated by an alternative method to utilising tag-recovery data. Reproduction in female giant crabs occurs in annual cycles, although females occasionally “skip” a reproductive season and do not become ovigerous; it has been noted previously that this appears to be associated with molting. Thus the proportion of females that do not participate in reproduction may indicate the proportion molting. This approach was tried with a sample of 342 females and the number that were “skipping” a reproductive season was measured by computerized tomography scanning (CT-scanning) of their ovaries prior to the extrusion of eggs. Radiometric aging (228Th/ 228Ra) of carapaces was also undertaken with the focus of this work on testing an assumption of the method, rather than describing the intermolt duration of a population.

Mesozooplankton community composition and structure were examined throughout the D’Entrecasteaux Channel, Huon Estuary and North West Bay, Tasmania, from November 2004 to October 2005, the data represented by this record was collected on the 13/10/2005. The composition of the mesozooplankton community was typical of inshore, temperate marine habitats, with seasonally higher abundance in summer and autumn and lower numbers in winter and spring. Copepods were the largest contributors to total abundance across all seasons and stations, while cladocerans and appendicularians were proportionally abundant in spring and summer. The faecal pellets of these three main groups, along with those of krill and amphipods, also contributed significantly to material recovered from sediment traps. Meroplanktonic larvae of benthic animals showed short-term peaks in abundance and were often absent from the water column for long periods. Spatially, North West Bay and the Channel had a higher representation of typically marine species, including Calanus australis and Labidocera cervi, while truly estuarine species, such as the copepod Gladioferens pectinatus, were more important in the Huon Estuary.

Data is primarily volume of eggs (naturally spawned and stripped) taken from different photo-thermal held brood stock groups of Striped Trumpeter (Latris lineata). Supporting data includes feeding, animal health and weight and environmental parameters (water quality).

Predation mortality rates of blacklip abalone (Haliotis rubra) were estimated under several different conditions using a range of manipulative experiments. Abalone mortality rates were estimated from tethering experiments inside the Maria Island Marine Reserve (MIMR) and at an adjacent site where predators, including southern rocks lobster (Jasus edwardsii) were in low abundance, due to fishing. Estimates of abalone mortality directly attributed to rock lobsters were gained from manipulative experiments inside the MIMR and in an aquarium experiment at the Tasmanian Aquaculture and Fisheries Institute facility at the Marine Research Laboratories.