This work formed part of a thesis looking at the concerns and aspirations of the Torres strait Islanders with respect to the TS Fisheries and Fishery arrangements via interviews.

The acoustics group at CMAR, Hobart recorded log books for cruises they participated in. Logbooks (cruises) are as follows: - Petuna Endeavour August 1989 & Franklin FRV13 - EK500 course, TE01/90, SS trials cruise, TE05/90, TE06/90, Towed body trials, & Analysis of SS90 data. - SS02/91 - SS01/92 - SS03/92 - SS04/93 & SS05/93 - SS04/92 & SS03/93 - SS05/93 Calibration settings, Mufti towing trials (8/11/95 & 19/1/96), & SS11/95 - SS06/93 & SS07/93 - Tim's log book (18 Sept 1995 & 16 Nov. 1995, SS02/91, SS03/93, SS04/92, & SS05/93) - SS03/94 & SS05/94 - SS02/94 - SS01/95 & SS02/95 - SS07/97 - Dec 98 Calibration, SS9801, & SS9802 - SS9901 & SS9903 - Saxon Progress July 99, Petuna Explorer 2001, Celtic Rose 2001, Megisti 2001, & Corvina 2001 - Ningaloo Reef 2001 - PET200302 - SS200409 - TAN200701

The dataset contains the traditional island names for fish and reefs which differ between the three Torres Strait Islander communities of Darnley, Murray and Yorke.

Between 1991-1997 a study of school and gummy shark nursery areas in Tasmania, lead by John Stevens, resulted in 404 school shark and 1254 gummy shark being tagged. Up to 1997, 50 school shark and 160 gummy shark had been recaptured. Small numbers of other shark species were also tagged.

The overall aims were to provide data on the distribution of deep seabed habitats and fauna that are amenable to scientific hypothesis testing, can be immediately applied to marine resource management processes, and that enable strategic development of tools and techniques for understanding the processes that maintain deep sea biodiversity. This work was to support the process of NWR Estate inventory and management performance assessment by providing interpreted benthic habitat maps, faunal inventories, distribution maps and conservation values. Data will be collected at scientific reference sites from potential MPA areas that can be re-visited for monitoring purposes in the future. Sampling along environmental gradients (geographic range and depth) in this section of Australia's coast will also provide the opportunity to evaluate biogeographic hypotheses. Further refinement of predictive methods for identifying seabed habitat types, initially developed in temperate and cool-temperate environments, will be enabled by data collection from this tropical location in Australia. We intended to highlight the importance of this underlying science as a modern "Voyage of Discovery" given the likely significance of the findings in terms of Australia's biodiversity and its biogeography and evolution. (From Voyage Plan). Sediment samples were divided into two samples: an elutrition sample for macroinvertebrates that was sent to Robin Wilson at MV for analysis and a sediment sample to be analysed by Geoscience Australia.

Dataset contains monitoring data from field surveys (mainly from crab-traps) on the distribution of European green crab (Carcinus maenas) in mainland Australian coastal waters, from January 1997 onwards. Data are also collected for bycatch of native crab species (including common shore crab Paragrapsus gaimardii, rough rock crab Nectocarcinus integrifrons, and ocean surf crab Ovalipes australiensis). The majority of data comes from one-off trappings in St Vincent Gulf, South Australia, and a suite of sites from SE Victoria (this latter area has been surveyed repeatedly). Some sites were in southern NSW. Data contains details of catch location, date, crab species, crab size, abundance, sex, gonad condition, limb loss, carapace colour. These data were collected as part of CSIRO's studies on the impacts and demographics of introduced marine species in Australian waters and for comparison with green crab distributions in Tasmania.

Dataset contains data from both laboratory and field experiments on the impacts of European green crab (Carcinus maenas) in Tasmanian coastal waters from January 1996 onwards. Impacts of primary interest are those on benthic infauna and native crabs. Most of the experiments were done inside the green crab's range in NE Tasmania (including Henderson Lagoon and Georges Bay), but also at some control sites in SE Tasmania (e.g. Norfolk Bay, Upper Pitwater). Studies included both inclusion and exclusion caging experiments, in which green crabs were included and excluded from caged areas, respectively, and the impacts over time on other fauna inside the cages determined. Infaunal surveys were done at several sites both inside and outside the crab's range in Tasmania, with particular emphasis on bivalves and gastropods. Infaunal surveys at several SE Victorian sites were later included for comparison. Studies were done in collaboration with scientists from the Smithsonian Environmental Reseach Centre in Maryland, USA, and Honours students from Department of Zoology, University of Tasmania. Subsets of the data are held at Smithsonian Environmental Research Centre, Maryland, and at Dept. Zoology, University of Tasmania.

Dataset contains monitoring data from field surveys (mainly from crab-traps) on the distribution of European green crab (Carcinus maenas) in Tasmanian coastal waters, from January 1996 onwards. Data are also collected for bycatch of native crab species (including common shore crab Paragrapsus gaimardii, rough rock crab Nectocarcinus integrifrons, and ocean surf crab Ovalipes australiensis). The majority of data comes from keysites on the north-east (Georges Bay, Falmouth) and south-east (Little Swanport, Blackman Bay, Norfolk Bay) coast which are surveyed each late Spring to early Autumn (initially fortnightly, later monthly, most recently bimonthly). Data contains details of catch location, date, crab species, crab size, abundance, sex, gonad condition, limb loss, carapace colour. These data are collected as part of CSIRO's studies on the impacts and demographics of introduced marine species in Australian waters.

The overall aims were to provide data on the distribution of deep seabed habitats and fauna that are amenable to scientific hypothesis testing, can be immediately applied to marine resource management processes, and that enable strategic development of tools and techniques for understanding the processes that maintain deep sea biodiversity. This work was to support the process of NWR Estate inventory and management performance assessment by providing interpreted benthic habitat maps, faunal inventories, distribution maps and conservation values. Data will be collected at scientific reference sites from potential MPA areas that can be re-visited for monitoring purposes in the future. Sampling along environmental gradients (geographic range and depth) in this section of Australia's coast will also provide the opportunity to evaluate biogeographic hypotheses. Further refinement of predictive methods for identifying seabed habitat types, initially developed in temperate and cool-temperate environments, will be enabled by data collection from this tropical location in Australia. We intended to highlight the importance of this underlying science as a modern "Voyage of Discovery" given the likely significance of the findings in terms of Australia's biodiversity and its biogeography and evolution. (From Voyage Plan) This record describes the biological samples taken during the survey. Fishes were lodges in the CSIRO Fish collection, invertebrate specimens were photographed and distributed to Australian museums for identification by taxonomists, focusing on sponges, corals, echinoderms, ascidians, molluscs and crustaceans. To date (as per Dec 2016) we are aware of 27 manuscripts of taxonomic revisions and/or descriptions that have used material collected from this survey.

The scientific objectives for the survey were split across two voyages (SS07/2005 for leg 1 and SS10/2005 for leg 2). The first leg was to map and visually survey (video) the upper continental slope (and at selected sites transects from the outer shelf to the mid-slope) at regular intervals of 1deg latitude; the second leg was to targeted sample the surveyed locations to document the benthic biodiversity. Epibenthic megafauna was sampled in 123 stations using the epibenthic sled Sherman and a beamtrawl at roughly 1 degree intervals from Bald Island in southern WA to Barrow Island (northern WA), at 100 and 400m depth; additional depths (200m, 700m 1000m) were sampled at targeted 'transect sites'. Invertebrate specimens were photographed and lodged with Australian Museums for identification, focused on sponges, corals, echinoderms, crustaceans, molluscs and ascidians. To date (Sept. 2014) we are aware of 27 taxonomic revisions or descriptions have been published from this collection. Fishes were only collected by chance, they are lodged with the CSIRO Fish Collection. The data of the biological samples is described here.