CSIRO Division of Fisheries

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The CSIRO Division of Fisheries (1940–1997), also officially named the "CSIRO Division of Fisheries and Oceanography" and "CSIRO Division of Fisheries Research" at different times, was a research section (Division) of the CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific Industrial and Research organisation), Australia's national science research agency, operating up to 1997. It was formally preceded by the CSIRO (then C.S.I.R.) Fisheries Investigations Section (1936–1940) and ceased to exist as a named entity (although its work was carried on) in 1997 when it was merged with the CSIRO Division of Oceanography under the name CSIRO Marine Research.

Description and formation

The CSIRO (then C.S.I.R.) Division of Fisheries was established in 1940, as a successor the previous Fisheries Investigation Section (1936–1940).^[1] In recognition of its developing component of non-biological oceanographic work, it was renamed the Division of Fisheries and Oceanography in 1956. The oceanographic component was split off as a separate Division of Oceanography in 1981, with the balance of staff and activity carried over as the Division of Fisheries Research, which reverted once more to the name Division of Fisheries in 1988. In 1997 it re-merged with the Division of Oceanography to form CSIRO Marine Research.^[2]

Location

Until c.1984 its headquarters and the majority of its staff were based in Cronulla, New South Wales; from that date the staff were transferred to new, purpose-built accommodation at the CSIRO Marine Laboratories in Hobart, Tasmania. Smaller complements of Division of Fisheries staff were also employed at regional laboratories in Marmion, a suburb of Perth in Western Australia, and Cleveland, a suburb of Brisbane in Queensland., also historically at some other locations around Australia (refer "History").

Staffing and budget

According to figures quoted in Mawson et al., in 1938 the nascent Division already employed 10 scientists plus 12 support staff; by 1970/71, as "Fisheries and Oceanography" the figures were 26 research scientists, 27 "other professional" staff and 76 support staff; and in 1987 (with removal of relevant staff to the new Oceanography Division) 97 research and technical staff and 28 support staff.^[3] In 1981-1982 its operating budget (from government sources) was AUD$7.3 million.^[4]

History and activities

To 1988, this section represents, in the main, a condensed version of the "chronology" chapter in Mawson et al., pp. 210-216, to which reference should be made for full information.

Pre-1940s

1926: Establishment of a Fisheries Section included in H.F. Heath, "Recommendations for the Reconstitution of the Commonwealth Institute of Science and Industry", the latter established as C.S.I.R. (precursor to CSIRO) the same year
1933: Government allocates funds for fisheries investigations in four areas: procure survey vessel; experiments in fish canning; curing and preserving; marketing
1935: Commonwealth fisheries investigations transferred to C.S.I.R.; secondment to C.S.I.R. of Stanley Fowler
1936: Stanley Fowler commences C.S.I.R. aerial surveys looking for pelagic fish off New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania
1937: Harold Thompson takes up duties as officer-in-charge of C.S.I.R. "Fisheries Investigation Section", initially based in Melbourne, first other staff appointed (E.J. Ferguson Wood)
1938: Fisheries Investigation Section transfers to former fish hatchery site in Cronulla (occupied 1939); new research vessel Warrreen delivered and makes first cruise
1939: David Rochford (hydrologist) appointed, hydrology work commences

1940s

1940: Fisheries Investigation Section renamed Division of Fisheries, H. Thompson as inaugural chief
1941: Alan Tubb transferred to Tasmania to commence Fisheries work there
1942: Warrreen requisitioned for war work, first aerial surveys in Western Australia
1943: Dom Serventy transferred to Western Australia to establish a presence there for the Division
1945: Liawenee begins hydrological work off Tasmania
1946: "Stowell" (large house in Battery Point, Hobart) purchased by CSIRO for Tasmanian laboratories; Warrreen returned to C.S.I.R. (work re-commenced 1947)
1948: Thursday Island station established for pearl shell work; retirement of Stanley Fowler; commissioning of new vessel in his name (FRV Stenley Fowler); FRV Fairwind used for work in Papua New Guinea
1949: Dunwich research station established on North Stradbroke Island, Queensland; C.S.I.R. becomes CSIRO

1950s

1950: FRV Fairwind lost at sea with all hands; CSIRO purchases FRV Derwent Hunter
1951: Division commences whaling studies; FRV Gahleru commissioned for Torres Strait pearl oyster program; Warrreen transferred to RAN (Royal Australian Navy)
1954: Lake Macquarie study (to 1956); retirement of Harold Thompson (Maurice Blackburn becomes acting chief)
1955: Hamon/Brown-developed CTD trialled on Derwent Hunter
1956: Appointment of G.F. Humphrey as chief, Division renamed "Fisheries and Oceanography"; Derwent Hunter commences blue-water (oceonographic) research
1957: Hamon salinometer developed
1958: Division hosts conference on oceanography of Coral and Tasman Seas
1959: Derwent Hunter returns to fisheries research; HMAS Diamantina loaned to CSIRO for Indian Ocean work

1960s

1960: HMAS Gascoyne loaned to CSIRO for work in Tasman Sea; Division participates in International Indian Ocean Expedition (IIOE) (to 1965)
1962: Camberwell Laboratory established in Melbourne; Derwent Hunter sold
1963: Tasmanian laboratory closed; studies of larval western rock lobster commence in Western Australia; Gulf of Carpentaria prawn survey commences (to 1965)
1966: East Coast Prawn Project begins
1969: Camberwell laboratory closed; Northern Prawn Project begins

1970s

1971: G.F. Humphrey retires as chief, establishes Marine Biochemistry Unit; D.J. Rochford becomes acting chief
1972: Queensland Department of Primary Industries Deception Bay laboratory completed, used by CSIRO as a base for prawn studies; K. Radway Allen appointed as chief; first use of satellite-tracked buoys for studying ocean currents
1973: Estuarine group established; Marmion, WA laboratory opens with R.G. Chittleborough as officer-in-charge; RV Kalinda commissioned for use by the East Coast Prawn Project; R.V. Sprightly chartered for use off Western Australia
1974: Estuarine Ecology commences, with survey of Port Hacking
1975: Cleveland, QLD laboratory planned, with W. Dall as officer-in-charge; FRV Courageous chartered for fisheries research; Karumba, QLD laboratory planned with D. Staples as officer-in-charge (new site purchased in 1976)
1976: Cleveland and Marmion laboratories both completed
1977: Western Australian Coastal Ecology project commences; Marine Biochemistry Unit re-absorbed into Division
1979: FRV Soela chartered for fisheries research; FRV Courageous charter ends

1980s

1981: Oceanographic work split off from Fisheries work as new Division of Oceanogrphy (founding chief: Angus McEwan), still based in Cronulla; parliamentary approval given for construction of new marine Laboratories in Hobart to house both Divisions
1982: RV Sprightly undertakes "Aurorex" circumnavigation cruise; North-West Shelf Project begins
1984: Staff begin transfer to Hobart; Southern Temperate Resources Program begins; last charter cruise of RV Sprightly
1985: Cronulla Laboratories formally cease operation; official opening of new CSIRO Marine Laboratories in Hobart
1988: Name of Division changed from "Fisheries Research" to "Fisheries"

For additional activities over this period, refer "Research Report. Division of Fisheries. 1985-1987" and "CSIRO Division of Fisheries: Research Report 1987/90" (no electronic access presently found).

1990-1997

For activities over this period, refer "Research Report. CSIRO Division of Fisheries, 1990-1991" and successors (as available), also relevant CSIRO (whole of Organisation) annual reports. From the latter, under Division of Fisheries Research Programs, the following are listed:

1990-91: Population dynamics and fish stock assessment; Phytoplankton resources; South and southeast fisheries resources; North and northeast fisheries resources; West and northwest fisheries resources; Biological oceanography; Environmental management and protection
1991-92 through to 1995-96: Tropical Fisheries Resources; Pelagic Fisheries Resources; Mariculture; Temperate and Deepwater Fisheries Resources; Marine Environment Research
1997: Division (re-) merges with Division of Oceanography to form new "Division of Marine Research".

A summary of the Division's activities as at 1989 is included in an account by N. Elliot and A. Woods published in the journal "Maritime Studies".^[5] For an extensive earlier account during the Cronulla years, refer Austin, 1973.^[6] The comprehensive volume by Mawson et al., 1988, cited above, contains much other historical information including chapters by key figures involved in Divisional research through the years, among them K. Radway Allen, Maurice Blackburn, Graham Chittleborough, George Cresswell, Bill Dall, Bruce Hamon, George Humphrey, Shirley Jeffrey, Harry Jitts, Geoffrey Kesteven, Ian Munro, Alan Pearce, Bruce Phillips, David Rochford and David Tranter.

Divisional chiefs/other leaders

Source: CSIROpedia^[2]

1940–54 Harold Thompson (previously Officer-in-Charge, Fisheries Investigations Section, 1936–40)
1956–71 George Frederick Humphrey ("Fisheries & Oceanography")
1972–77 Kenneth Radway Allen ("Fisheries & Oceanography")
1977–80 David James Rochford ("Fisheries & Oceanography")
1981 Brian Devenish Stacey ("Fisheries Research", acting)
1981–84 Shirley Winifred Jeffrey ("Fisheries Research", acting)
1984–90 Frederick Robert "Roy" Harden Jones ("Fisheries Research" to 1988, then "Fisheries" again)
1990–97 Peter Colin Young

From 1997 the Division ceased to exist in a formal sense, being replaced by "Marine Research" (founding chief: Christoph Bruno Fandry 1996–97).

Research outputs

Research outputs from the Division's activities took the form of internal and external reports, publications in the scientific literature, carrying out commissioned research for the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) and the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC), and providing advice and in some areas, contracted research for Government Departments (especially Environment) as needed. By 1988, it was reported that members of "the division" (also including staff who by then had become the separate Division of Oceanography) had published nearly 2,000 articles in scientific journals, plus monographs;^[7] a 2026 search on "Google Scholar" yields about 5,100 results (articles plus monographs) that include [CSIRO] "Division of Fisheries" in the text,^[8] the majority comprising works authored by staff of the Division as primary or associate author (an equivalent search for "Division of Oceanography" yields approx. 1,200 results, some of which may be included in the 1988 figure quoted).

Vessels used by CSIRO Fisheries (and its alternates) over the years

Source: "CSIRO at Sea" (1988), with Southern Surveyor added

MV Australia (1948)
LFB Challenger (1960s)
FRV Courageous (1975–1979)
MV Cygnus
MV Degei (1965–1966)
FRV Derwent Hunter (1950–1962)
HMAS Diamantina (1959–1970s)
FV Estelle Star (1961–1962)
MV Fairwind (1948–1950)
ORV Franklin (1985–?)
FRV Gahleru (1951–1960)
HMAS Gascoyne (1960–1961)
LFB Gondwana (1950s)
MV H.C. Dannevig (1948)
MV Islander VI (1970–1971)
MV Isobel (1945–1948)
FRV Jaybee (1950–1960)
RV Kalinda (1973–1976)
RV Kareela (1977–1983)
RV Karin (1972–1984)
HMAS Kimbla (1960s)
FRV Liawenee (1945–1951)
FRV Marelda (1946)
FV Maxim (1980s)
FV Nimbus (1968)
MV Patanela (1974)
FV Paxie (1960s)
RV Penaeus (1972–?)
MV Penghana (1960s)
HMAS Queenborough (1958)
HMAS Quickmatch (1958)
FV Rachel (1984–1985)
FV Rama (1963–1965)
FV Saga (1960–1966)
MV Sandpiper (1980s)
MV Scottsman (1980s)
FRV Soela (1979–1988)
FV Southern Endeavour (1960–1961)
FRV Southern Surveyor (1988–1995)
RV Sprightly (1973–1983)
Squilla (unknown dates)
FRV Stanley Fowler (1948–1951)
FV Suda Bay (1952–1953)
HMAS Taipan (1946)
FRV Thyrsites (1959–1960)
MV Tipton (1940s)
FRV Tom Thumb (1967–1969)
FV Two Freddies plus other boats (1961–1962)
MV Villaret (1950)
FRV Warreen (1938–1951)
HMAS Warrego (1959–1960)
Wattamolla (unknown dates)
FRV Weerutta (1961).