A single database has been implemented to store catch sampling and targeted research data collected since the late 1990s. In addition, data for key species e.g. striped and bastard trumpeter, has been uploaded from historic data bases to provide a complete dataset for the key species. Commercial catch sampling plus opportunistic collections of key scalefish species provide size and age structure information for catches. Where feasible additional biological information e.g. sex and reproductive status is collected.

Projects including exploratory trawl surveys of the shelf and slope waters off southern Australia, targeted studies of specific fisheries, e.g. trawl fisheries for blue grenadier and orange roughy, purse seine fishery for jack mackerel, gillnet fishery for blue warehou, the coastal reef fishery for live fish fishery, inshore shark fishery, along with commercial catch sampling (on board and market sampling) have yielded an extensive dataset that includes biological, distribution and abundance information for a diverse range of finfish species from South East Australia. These data have been compiled into a single database and cover collections made between the late 1970s and mid 1990s. Note, selected data for key species (e.g. banded morwong, bastard and striped trumpeter) have been extracted and uploaded into Access databases (refer to scalefish research database, post mid-1990s).