The biology, fishery and mamagement of the commercial scallop (Pecten famatus) in Jervis Bay, New South Wales.

Abstract

Jervis Bay, Botany Bay and Twofold Bay are the only large open embayments on the New South Wales coast. Botany Bay, located in the southern suburbs of Sydney, is highly urbanised and used as a major port facility, while at Eden, Twofold Bay is in a relatively pristine state but because of its natural beauty and its proximity to Sydney and Canberra, has a large and growing fishing and diving based tourism industry. Jervis Bay also supports some commercial fishing, including intermittent but valuable scallop dredging. At present, a proposal is being considered for the Bay to be the site for a large naval base development. Since the publication of “Jervis Bay: The Future?” (Pollard, 1973) which discussed the then proposed steelworks and power station developments, few issues have generated controversy about the management of the marine environment of the Bay. During the 1980-82 scallop fishery, one such issue was whether scallop dredging should be allowed in the Bay.