Torres Strait Pearl Shell Stock Assessment Report 1994: O'Brien V and Colgan K. (1995) Torres Strait Pearl Shell 1994. Stock Assessment Report, Torres Strait Fisheries Assessment Group. Australian Fisheries Management Authority, Canberra. 11pp.

Fishery Assessment Report - The Torres Strait Pearl Shell Fishery 2000: Williams G and Coles R. (2000) Fishery Assessment Report of the Torres Strait Pearl Shell Fishery. Compiled by the Torres Strait Pearl Fishery Assessment Group, 2000.

Fishery Assessment Report - The Torres Strait Pearl Fishery 1998: Torres Strait Fisheries Assessment Group. (1999) The Torres Strait Pearl Fishery 1998. Fisheries Assessment Report. Australian Fisheries Management Authority, Canberra. 14 pp.

Fishery Assessment Report - The Torres Strait Pearl Shell Fishery 1994: O'Brien V and Colgan K. (1995) The Torres Strait Pearl Shell Fishery 1994. Fishery Assessment Report. Edited by the Torres Strait Fisheries Assessment Group. Australian Fisheries Management Authority, Canberra. 13pp.

Report on the Torres Strait Pearl Bed Survey by Bureau of Rural Resources (ABARE) 1989: Colgan K and Reichelt RE. (1991) Torres Strait Pearl Bed Survey 1989. Report to the Torres Strait Fishing Industry and Islanders Consultative Committee and Torres Strait Fisheries Management Committee, Cairns. Bureau of Rural Resources. 60pp.

The cited report describes the outcomes of a Pearl Industry Workshop which was held on 22-23 June 1994, at the Thursday Island College of TAFE. This workshop was part of a DPI Queensland Project funded by AFMA, and aimed to improve the efficiency of the Torres Strait and East Coast Pearl Fishery and benefit Torres Strait Communities by examining research and management options. The project and workshop objectives were to: * facilitate discussion between pearl farmers and government agencies 1994 Queensland Pearl Industry Workshop * collate and communicate research on pre-farm handling techniques and on farm management. * provide a forum for discussion of hatchery technology, fisheries management options, licensing arrangements, seeding and marketing. * establish the research needs of the industry. Refer to the cited report: Golden S, Turnbull C and Coles R. eds. (1994) Developing the Torres Strait and Queensland East Coast Pearl Industry. 1994 Industry Workshop. 22-23 June, Torres Strait. Conference and Workshop Series QC94006. Queensland Department of Primary Industries, Brisbane, Australia. 50pp.

This study assessed the relative vulnerability of Torres Strait fisheries by conducting a vulnerability assessment on 15 key fishery species. A structured semi-quantitative approach for the vulnerability assessments was applied, based on a widely-adopted framework that includes the elements of Exposure, Sensitivity and Adaptive Capacity proposed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The assessments were informed by comprehensive literature reviews of Torres Strait climate (observed and projected), key fishery habitats and their vulnerability to climate change, and species reviews for 10 fishery groups that covered fishery characteristics, species life cycles and sensitivity to environmental changes. The assessments were further informed by results of interviews with Torres Strait Islanders. The results of the vulnerability assessments identified species with high, medium and low relative vulnerability to climate change. The species identified as having the highest relative vulnerability were: black teatfish, black-lipped pearl oyster, dugong, and trochus. When vulnerability was combined with the level of importance of each species to fisheries in Torres Strait (using a measure of cultural and economic value), a priority list of five species was identified for future action by management. These species were: dugong, turtle, tropical rock lobster, trochus and gold-lipped pearl oyster. This project concludes that there are a number of environmental changes that will be experienced in the Torres Strait by 2030, including habitat impacts that will have flow-on effects on a number of key fisheries. The main drivers are likely to be increases in sea surface temperature, increased severity of storms, and habitat changes particularly to coral reefs and seagrass meadows. The report also provides a range of recommendations on future actions and research that should arise from this project. These are grouped into three themes: (1) improving assessment accuracy, (2) extension of results to communities and decision-makers, and (3) research to address key knowledge gaps.