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MARINE researchers spend their days diving, wetsuit clad, in Victoria's seaweed forests, foraging among fish and crustaceans, and dodging hungry sharks, right?
For research scientist Therese Stokie, the reality is far less glamorous.
Therese works at Queenscliff's Department of Primary Industries Fisheries Research and most of her day, like many of her colleagues, is spent = hunched over a high-powered microscope, relaying her findings on computer.
It is, however, cutting-edge work, which underscores the importance of the = research undertaken by the department as a whole, which ensures our state's fisheries remain sustainable.
"I collect tiny ear bones, or otoliths, from fish, which are generally = about the size of a five cent piece, and take tiny, thin slices off to age them," Therese says.
"Like trees have rings that you can count to age the tree, the otolith = also has rings that we count under the microscope so we can determine the age of = the fish.
"It's important to age fish so we find out growth rates and maximum age of = fish populations so we can manage these populations and make predictions = about future catch trends."
She says the oldest snapper aged in Victoria was 40 years old, with King George whiting living up to nine years, black bream 37 years, dusky flathead = 15 years and deep sea orange roughy more than 150 years.
Surprisingly squid and anchovies, which have short lives, can even be aged = by counting "daily growth rings".
The fish otoliths are collected from dedicated recreational fisherman = dotted throughout Victoria, who pluck them out, package and post them. Otoliths are also collected from the commercial catch, surveys and fishing competitions. =
Fisheries research director Jon Presser says recreational and commercial fisherman are central to the department's work, in addition to the 60-odd research scientists.
"There are several ways we assess the status of the fishery and provide advice to the (Victorian) Government on stocks, in order to take appropriate management and adjust bag limits," Jon says. "Commercial fisherman keep log books, while we get some recreational anglers to keep diaries and under = permit from us do targeted fishing."
Jon says the department monitors several species including snapper, King George whiting, flathead, bream and calamari, as well as the more valuable commercial fisheries of abalone and rock lobster, and freshwater stocks of Murray cod, golden perch and trout.
The Federal Government monitors deep-water fish, such as sharks, with assistance from Victorian fisheries.
He says snapper and whiting fisheries have improved in recent years and = they are trying to understand why rock lobster numbers are decreasing.
"Black bream in the Gippsland Lakes requires careful monitoring as it is = more affected by the lack of fresh water flows and environmental conditions in the = lakes."
Jon says the pressure on the state's fish population has never been so great.
"Years ago fish were considered to be an unlimited resource. The = population was small and fishing gear was largely ineffectual," he says.
"Now we have a far greater population with more (fishing) technology, combined with coastal development.
"All our fish species are fully exploited. They are at the peak of their catch. "That's why we carefully manage and monitor them. So we can say we are = reasonably confident that our fisheries are = sustainable."