A conceptual framework for ecological studies of coastal resources: An example of a tunicate collected for bait on Australian Seashores

‘Every rock fisherman must have tried cunjevoi for bait, and surely every onlooker must have wondered at the stuff he cuts off the rock…its familiarity is accompanied by an almost complete ignorance of its nature.’ (From Dakin, W. J., Australian Seashores, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1952.)

Procedural aspects of management-related research on coastal ecosystems are addressed in a case study of a popular bait animal, particularly with regard to using information about the population dynamics of the species, availability, scales of resource usage, and the appropriateness of techniques of harvesting. For example, people fishing from rocks in New South Wales, Australia, commonly use ‘cunjevoi’ as bait. The cunjevoi (Pyura stolonifera) is a largely unstudied ascidian that occupies much of the space on the lower foreshore. Preliminary data are presented relating to a study of the impacts of bait collection on the population dynamics of cunjevoi. Such basic ecological information is lacking for the lower shore, and may indicate hitherto unforeseen consequences of overharvesting by fishermen. This project contributes to the understanding of the influence of recreational fishing on the marine environment. The information yielded by this sampling strategy and a pilot experiment simulating bait harvesting are related to the management questions pertinent to this type of resource system.