A large (~2450 km²) offshore (~75 km) targeted fisheries closure (TFC) area was implemented on the North West Shelf of Australia (NWS) in 1998 as part of a suite of management controls to address overfishing concerns, and in the process to potentially mitigate any impacts of trawling to benthic habitats. Twelve years later, the benthic biota and fish assemblages in the TFC were assessed using stereo-video and compared with adjacent areas that have been consistently fished with a range of commercial fishing methods. The remote nature of the region has meant that these areas would be inaccessible to recreational fishers. After 12 years of protection there were significant differences between the TFC and comparable fished areas in both the composition and the height of biogenic structures, however the magnitude of these differences were subtle, except for branching soft corals, which were significantly taller in the TFC area. Despite the relatively young age of the TFC, significant differences in the fish abundance and biomass compositions were driven by the slower growing, longer lived and inherently less productive fishery target species. The abundance of Lutjanus sebae (red emperor) and Epinephelus multinotatus (Rankin cod), and the associated biomass of L. sebae and Pristipomoides multidens (goldband snapper) were all greater within the TFC. However, neither the abundance or biomass of the relatively shorter lived and more productive fishery species (e.g. the bluespotted emperor Lethrinus punctulatus and the brownstripe snapper Lutjanus vitta) were greater within the TFC. Growth rates of benthic biota across the NWS are unknown, however the limited detectable differences in benthic biota between the TFC and fished areas, suggests that either recovery of the benthic biota is slow and may not yet be at a threshold for detection and/or alternatively that current fishing activities are not causing adverse impacts to biogenic structures. These large, offshore targeted fishery closures provide a useful reference point to examine the natural variability, growth and recovery of benthic biota and fish assemblages after the cessation of fishing.

一个大 (~2450 km ²) 1998 年在澳大利亚西北大陆架 (NWS) 实施了近海（约 75 公里）目标渔业关闭 (TFC) 区，作为一套管理控制措施的一部分，以解决过度捕捞问题，并在此过程中可能减轻任何影响拖网捕捞到底栖栖息地。十二年后，使用立体视频评估了 TFC 中的底栖生物群和鱼类组合，并与一直使用一系列商业捕鱼方法捕捞的邻近区域进行了比较。该地区的偏远性质意味着休闲渔民无法进入这些地区。经过 12 年的保护，TFC 和可比较的捕捞区之间在生物结构的组成和高度方面存在显着差异，但这些差异的幅度很小，除了分支软珊瑚，它们在 TFC 区域明显更高。尽管 TFC 的年龄相对较小，但鱼类丰度和生物量组成的显着差异是由生长速度较慢、寿命较长且本身生产力较低的渔业目标物种造成的。丰富的Lutjanus sebae（红帝王）和Epinephelus multinotatus（Rankin cod），以及L. sebae和Pristipomoides multidens（金带鲷鱼）的相关生物量在 TFC 中都更大。然而，相对较短寿命和生产力较高的渔业物种（例如蓝斑帝王斑鱼和褐条鲷Lutjanus vitta) 在 TFC 中更大。整个 NWS 底栖生物群的增长率是未知的，但是 TFC 和捕鱼区之间底栖生物群的有限可检测差异表明底栖生物群的恢复缓慢并且可能尚未达到检测阈值和/或替代目前的捕捞活动不会对生物结构造成不利影响。这些大型近海目标渔业关闭为检查停止捕捞后底栖生物群和鱼类组合的自然变异、生长和恢复提供了有用的参考点。