Research interests

• Fishery-independent surveys
• Biology and ecology of fish and invertebrates
• Estuarine and coastal ecosystems
• Design and selectivity of sampling gears
• Design and analyses of experiments
• Management and sustainability of fisheries resources and biodiversity

Background

Doug Rotherham is a Research Scientist in the Wild Fisheries Unit located at the Cronulla Fisheries Research Centre of Excellence. He has 10 years experience doing scientific research involving fish and invertebrates in estuarine and coastal habitats of south-eastern Australia.

Doug joined NSW Fisheries* in 2003 while completing his PhD on the biology, ecology and recreational harvesting of burrowing ghost shrimp (locally known as nippers or yabbies). Since 2004, he has coordinated a research project developing fishery-independent surveys of estuarine fisheries resources in NSW. This work has involved collaboration with Tony Underwood and Gee Chapman (University of Sydney) in using an experimental approach to develop more reliable and cost-effective sampling gears and designs of sampling.

Doug’s future research will build on this work by testing the relative value of data collected from fishery-independent (i.e. research surveys) and fishery-dependent (i.e. commercial and recreational fisheries) sources for assessing, managing and improving the sustainability of fisheries resources and biodiversity in estuaries of NSW.

*NSW Department of Primary Industries was formed on July 1, 2004 through an amalgamation of NSW Agriculture, NSW Fisheries, State Forests of NSW and the NSW Department of Mineral Resources.

Qualifications

• B.Sc. (Hons) – University Wollongong 1999
• PhD  – University Wollongong 2004

Current projects

1. Integrating fishery-independent and –dependent data for improved sustainability of fisheries resources and other aspects of biodiversity
2. Evaluating the estuarine fisheries resources of NSW
3. Age validation and growth of secondary fish species for resource assessments

Recent Publications

Rotherham D and West RJ (2009) Patterns in reproductive dynamics of burrowing ghost shrimp Trypaea australiensis from small to intermediate scales. Marine Biology.

Gray CA, Rotherham D, Chapman MG, Underwood AJ, Johnson DD (2009) Spatial scales of variation of assemblages of fish in coastal lakes sampled with multi-mesh gillnets: implications for designing research surveys. Fisheries Research, 96, 58-63.

Rotherham D, Gray CA, Underwood AJ, Chapman MG and Johnson DD (2008) Developing fishery-independent surveys for the adaptive management of NSW’s estuarine fisheries. Final report to the Fisheries Research & Development Corporation for Project No. 2002/059. NSW Department of Primary Industries – Fisheries Final Report Series No. 106. 135pp. ISSN 1449-9967.

Johnson DD, Rotherham D and Gray CA (2008) Sampling estuarine fish and invertebrates using demersal otter trawls: effects of net height, tow duration and diel period. Fisheries Research, 93, 315-323.

Rotherham D, Broadhurst MK, Gray CA and Johnson DD (2008) Developing a beam trawl for sampling estuarine fish and crustaceans: assessment of a codend cover and effects of different sizes of mesh in the body and codend. ICES Journal of Marine Research, 65, 687-696.

Rotherham D, Gray CA, Johnson DD and Lokys P (2008) Effects of diel period and tow duration on estuarine fauna sampled with a beam trawl over bare sediment. Consequences for designing more reliable and efficient surveys. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 78, 179-189.

Rotherham D and West RJ (2007) Spatial and temporal patterns of abundance and recruitment of ghost shrimp (Trypaea australiensis) across hierarchical scales in south-eastern Australia. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 341, 165-175.

Rotherham D, Gray CA, Underwood AJ and Chapman MG (2007). A strategy for developing scientific sampling tools for fishery-independent surveys of estuarine fish in New South Wales, Australia. ICES Journal of Marine Research, 64, 1512-1516.

Rotherham D, Gray CA, Broadhurst MK, and Johnson DD, Barnes LM and Jones MV (2006) Sampling estuarine fish using multi-mesh gill nets: effects of panel length and soak and setting times. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 331, 226-239.

Gray CA, Jones MV, Rotherham D, Broadhurst MK, Johnson DD, Barnes LM (2005) Utility and efficiency of multi-mesh gill and trammel nets for sampling assemblages and populations of estuarine fish. Marine and Freshwater Research, 56, 1077-1088.

Rotherham D and West RJ (2003) Comparison of methods for sampling populations of ghost shrimp, Trypaea australiensis (Decapoda: Thalassinidea: Callianassidae) Fisheries Research, 60, 585-591.

Rotherham D and West RJ (2002) Do different seagrass species support distinct fish communities in south-eastern Australia? Fisheries Management and Ecology, 9, 235-248.

Professional associations and activities

• Australian Society for Fish Biology

Fields of Research

• 060205  Marine and Estuarine Ecology (incl. Marine Ichthyology)
• 050202  Conservation and Biodiversity
• 070403  Fisheries Management
• 070402  Aquatic Ecosystem Studies and Stock Assessment

Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC)

Keyword/phrase list of research interests

• Fishery-independent surveys
• Sampling
• Marine ecology
• Estuarine ecology
• Biodiversity