Fisheries management is complex. It brings together research, regulation, enforcement and community engagement across commercial, aquaculture, recreational, charter and Indigenous fisheries, usually within one agency and a finite budget.
The Marine Resources Division of the Tasmanian Department of Natural Resources and Environment (NRE Tas) commissioned episteme to benchmark Tasmania’s fisheries management staffing against other Australian jurisdictions. The timing mattered. After COVID-19, recreational fishing was growing, new forms of fishing were emerging, a generation of fisheries managers was retiring, and the state’s Living Marine Resources Management Act was under review.
Every state and territory with marine fisheries took part. Working with a nominated representative from each jurisdiction, we developed a common framework that compared staffing by fishery type and task, and set it against the value of production. The study gave NRE Tas a consistent national picture to inform workforce planning as fisheries management evolves.