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Australian Fisheries Resources
Abstract
“Australian Fisheries Resources” is the most comprehensive reference on the marine and freshwater species taken in commercial and recreational fisheries in Australian waters. It was produced by the Bureau of Resource Sciences, Department of Primary Industries and Energy, Australia, more than 350 contributors from all parts of Australia helped put the information together and peer review it.
Chapter 1: The book begins with an overview of Australia’s fisheries resources, industries, products, markets, management and research.
Chapter 2: Australia’s fisheries resources rely on many diverse habitats for their feeding, breeding, movements and growth. The habitat that sustains these resources ranges from deep oceans to coral reefs, shallow coastal waters, and rivers and lakes.
Chapter 3: Fish are harvested in Australian waters with a wide range of gear, including hook and line, nets and traps.
Chapter 4: The catch must be processed, bearing in mind both fish quality and marketing.
Chapter 5: More than 140 species are taken in quantities greater than 100 tonnes or valued at more than A1 million are described in this chapter.
Glossary and summary table: Explanations of technical terms and a quick reference guide to all of the species are provided in the final chapter.
... A congeneric species, the eastern Australian salmon (Arripis trutta) occurs along the south-eastern and eastern coast of Australia as far north as Brisbane. Where the species overlap, they may be found in mixed schools together (Kailola et al., 1993). Until the mid-1980s Western Australian salmon was regarded as a subspecies of the eastern species, from which it can be separated by counts of gill rakers (Paulin, 1993). ...
... Mature salmon form schools and undergo an annual westward spawning migration (Kailola et al., 1993, Walker 1982 Salmon spawning is thought to occur within the Cape Leeuwin to Busselton region (Bray and Gomon, 2022), although it may occur over a larger region between Albany and Busselton (Cappo, 1987a). Spawning takes place between February and June, with a peak between March and early May, near headlands (Cappo, 1987a). ...
... First year juveniles of 5-8 cm FL begin to appear in SA bays and inlets between July and September (Cappo 1987b, Malcolm 1966a, and in Victoria (VIC) and Tasmania between August and October (Cappo 1987b, Malcolm 1966a, Robertson 1982, Nicholls 1973. Juvenile salmon are found over soft substrates in shallow and sheltered coastal waters and estuaries from Western Australia to Tasmania (Kailola et al., 1993). They begin forming large schools at 35-40 cm FL (Cappo, 1987a). ...
... This species is found primarily in the western Pacific Ocean. The name is based on the fact that its four distinctive pectoral filaments resemble fingers (Kailola et al., 1993;Motomura, 2004;Motomura et al., 2002). Fourfinger threadfins are carnivorous, primarily preying on prawns and fish, occasionally including polychaetes in their diet (Kailola et al., 1993). ...
... The name is based on the fact that its four distinctive pectoral filaments resemble fingers (Kailola et al., 1993;Motomura, 2004;Motomura et al., 2002). Fourfinger threadfins are carnivorous, primarily preying on prawns and fish, occasionally including polychaetes in their diet (Kailola et al., 1993). This fish is highly sought after because of its excellent taste and flesh quality, which has led to growing demand in the market. ...
... Australia's fisheries are relatively small by global standards [18,63], which has commonly been attributed to the relatively low productivity of its coastal seas (e.g., [34]). However, several other factors also limit Australia's total fisheries production. ...
... Opposition to the large factory trawler was, with some justification, particularly strong in Tasmania (Ward, personal observations at SPF Stakeholder Forums). The rise and fall of the Jack Mackerel Fishery, which began off Tasmania in the early 1980 s and ended in 2000 [27,34] led some Tasmanians to be skepitical about the benefits of small pelagic fisheries. Purse-seine vessels targeting surface schools took ~42,000 t of jack mackerel in 1986-87 [17,40]. ...
This paper documents the discovery of a large sardine (Sardinops sagax) resource off Southeastern Australia. We use information from three ichthyoplankton surveys for jack mackerel to apply the Daily Egg Production Method (DEPM) to the Southeastern sardine stock. Mean daily egg production was estimated from survey data. Spawning area was estimated from the surveys and using a habitat suitability model to predict presence/absence of eggs in unsurveyed areas. Spawning biomass was calculated using adult parameters from the adjacent Southern stock. The spawning biomass in the area surveyed was 262,564 t (95% CI 125,670-326-438 t). Habitat modelling using a conservative threshold suggested that the total spawning biomass was 346,388 t (95% CI 143,936-548,840 t). These results suggest this stock has the capacity to sustain an annual catch of several tens of thousands of tonnes, which is considerably larger than the recent catch of < 2500 t. Our findings provide further evidence that opportunities exist to increase Australia's fisheries production. Risks and challenges associated with establishing a new large-scale sardine fishery, including bycatch and ecological impacts, and opposition from conservation groups and recreational fishers are discussed. We also outline the potential socioeconomic and environmental benefits, including the use of marine protein and oil from a sustainable local source with low environmental impacts as an input to the AU$1.3B Tasmanian salmon aquaculture industry. We emphasize the need to adopt a precautionary approach to developing a new fishery and the critical importance of conducting comprehensive surveys to confirm our findings and inform ongoing management.
... For example, females from the Seal Rock breeding colony have been recorded foraging in the northeast and central Bass Strait, potentially competing for resources with AUFS from Kanowna Island, which could lead to exclusion or avoidance behaviour by Kanowna seals 38 . Alternatively, this could reflect the distribution of the preferred prey of AUFS 64 , which has been reported to increase in diversity with depth in Bass Strait 56 . ...
Determining the factors influencing habitat selection and hunting success in top predators is crucial for understanding how these species may respond to environmental changes. For marine top predators, such factors have been documented in pelagic foragers, with habitat use and hunting success being linked to chlorophyll-a concentrations, sea surface temperature and light conditions. In contrast, little is known about the determinants of benthic marine predators. The Australian fur seal (Arctocephalus pusillus doriferus) is a benthic-diving forager that has a breeding and foraging distribution largely restricted to Bass Strait, the shallow (max. depth 80 m) continental shelf region between the Australian mainland and Tasmania. The species forages mostly on benthic prey and represents the greatest resident marine predator biomass in south-eastern Australia. The region is also one of the world’s fastest-warming marine areas and oceanographic changes are influencing shifts in prey distribution and abundance. In the present study, GPS-derived locations of benthic dives (n = 288,449) and dive behaviour metrics were used to determine seafloor habitat selection and factors influencing hunting success in 113 lactating adult females from Kanowna Island during the winters of 2006–2021. Individuals non-randomly selected foraging habitats comprised of deeper, steeper sloped, muddy-sandy areas with less gravel and highly disturbed regions (P < 0.01). Hunting success was greatest in shallower rocky reefs (< 30 m) and deep areas (> 40 m) characterised by moderate presence of gravel (25–50%) and substantial rock composition (50–75%) on the seabed. These findings suggest that habitat use and hunting success in adult female Australian fur seals could be impacted by predicted oceanographic changes, such as rising temperature, altered currents and waves which may modify seafloor characteristics and benthic communities.
... In Australia, 30-80% of females were ovigerous in December, although bimonthly sampling has suggested ovigerous females from November to January [40,41]. Generally, spawning occurs during warmer months, from October to February [42]. Peak ovigerous seasons are similar across tropical regions but differ between the temperate regions of Australia, Japan, and Hawaii, indicating that seasonality depends on ocean conditions beyond temperature, including salinity, light, current, and larval food availability [43]. ...
The frog crab/red frog crab (Ranina ranina), a species of symbolic significance in the South Penghu Marine National Park, Taiwan, represents a collaboration between marine conservation and recreational fishing under Sustainable Development Goal 14 (SDG14) as defined by the United Nations. From 2020 to 2021, the growth and reproduction of R. ranina were examined in the Taiwan Strait, off the coast of Taiwan. Samples were gathered from the South Penghu Marine National Park water square in Penghu County using red frog crab nets. A comparative analysis of the existing biological literature has revealed that the spawning season of R. ranina differs among populations, as evidenced by varying percentages of ovigerous females: 10–90% in Hachijojima, Japan; 86% in Molokai, Hawaii; 1–17% in the Andaman Sea, Thailand; more than 50% in Mindanao, Philippines; and 30–80% in New South Wales, Australia, and Taiwan. Additionally, analysis of the reproductive patterns, growth parameters, and spawning seasons of R. ranina can serve as a scientific foundation for the implementation of SDG14 as well as the formulation of conservation principles for resource management. This research has underscored the essential role of localized conservation strategies that cohesively resonate with broader global sustainability goals, offering a strategic framework for effective marine resource management.
... Throughout the early life stages, juveniles of T. obesus gradually migrate to deeper ocean regions until reaching maturity. However, during part of their life, as a function of being recruited in oceanic regions, they often migrate to regions near oceanic islands to feed [11,12,16,28,36]. This proximity of juveniles on oceanic islands agrees with the results obtained in the present study, where a high probability of juveniles was estimated around Arquipélago de São Pedro e São Paulo (ASPSP). ...
Fishing is important as it generates employment, income, high-quality food and livelihoods for native communities in many parts of the world. However, when poorly managed, it can cause irreversible overfishing impacts on the ecology of communities. The present study aimed to construct models to estimate the presence probability of young specimens of Thunnus albacares, Thunnus obesus and Xiphias gladius in the Western Equatorial Tropical Atlantic Ocean (WETA) using oceanographic, temporal, and spatial variables. The data used were generated by monitoring the fishing operations of vessels of the pelagic longline fleet in the extreme northeast of Brazil. The Generalized Additive Model was used to estimate the effect of different factors and covariates (oceanographic, temporal, and spatial variables) on the juvenile probability of the presence of the species T. albacares, T. obesus and X. gladius. The capture of juveniles becomes graver in the results obtained annually, for T. albacares ranged between 12.4% and 50.5%, T. obesus ranging from 27.5% to 36.4% and X. gladius from 0% to 13.8% immatures. Models established indicated that water temperature, year, longitude, chlorophyll-a and the interactions between moon phases and latitude, as well as the interactions between quarters and latitude, are statistically significant, influencing the distribution of juveniles of these resources. More efforts and attention should be directed to investigating the distribution of juvenile presence in the WETA, mainly in the southern hemisphere. We want to initiate here a broad discussion and campaign for establishing studies aiming at the constant monitoring of juvenile levels captured.
... The presence of swordfish in Australian waters was known from occasional strandings since the early 20th century (Kailola et al., 1993, J. Pepperell, unpublished data). However, only very rare landings of small (1-15 kg) incidentally caught swordfish were reported by recreational anglers until 1989, when the first actively-targeted swordfish was landed off southern New South Wales using the night-time drifted bait method (Kailola et al., 1993;Caton et al., 1998). Several years of interest in this style of fishing culminated in the 1996 landing of a 175 kg swordfish (GFAA, 2022), a record lasting 19 years, until the emergence of a daytime deep-dropping fishery in southeast Australia. ...
Swordfish (Xiphias gladius) are large, economically and ecologically important predatory fish with a wide circumglobal distribution. While swordfish are coveted by anglers, development of recreational fisheries has been limited historically, due in part to the species’ tendency to migrate into the mesopelagic zone during the day, effectively out of reach of typical game fishing methods. Recently, however, the adoption of ‘deep-dropping’, targeting swordfish during daytime with baits at > 300 m depth, has expanded access to the fish and led to the emergence of new regional fisheries. In 2014 a deep-dropping recreational swordfish fishery emerged in temperate southeast Australia and attracted international attention after yielding several swordfish line-class weight records. However, information is needed to guide best practices for emerging deep-dropping swordfish fisheries. Here, we present the first assessment of capture-related morbidity and post-release survival of swordfish caught by deep-dropping in southeast Australia. Among swordfish assessed to be in suitable condition for release, affixed pop-up satellite archival tags indicated 85.6% (57.8 – 95.7%; n = 13) survived after release. Including swordfish assessed as moribund after attempted resuscitation as mortalities, the survival rate for landed swordfish was 44% (95% CI 25.1 – 64.8%; n = 25). Severe abdominal distension (a notably protruding abdomen presumably due to swim bladder overinflation) and observed internal hooking injury (in the gut or gill area) were strong predictors of reduced survival (odds ratios 0.008 and 0.015 respectively), while angling duration and fish weight did not have a discernible effect on mortality. While the swordfish fishery is superficially like more common istiophorid billfish game fishing, the unique physiology and behaviour of swordfish and depths at which they are targeted present a unique challenge for stewardship as the typical catch-and-release billfish game fishing ethos may not be appropriate. The results of this preliminary study suggest swordfish caught deep-dropping are a poor candidate for purely catch-and-release angling. Predictors of post-release mortality are readily observable, so fishers should be prepared to humanely dispatch fish exhibiting symptoms of injury from gill or gut hooking, or abdominal distension severe enough to prevent the fish from righting itself beyond a brief resuscitation period.
This report endeavours to:
• Review the status of key Victorian fish stocks to determine their exploitation status;
• Provide fisheries managers and policy makers with the information and advice to guide their decisions, work prioritisation and policy development;
• Identify the information requirements to improve future assessments;
• Streamline reporting requirements such as those for obtaining and maintaining export approval under the Federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, the Victorian Commissioner for Environmental Sustainability Act 2003, and Victorian fisheries cost recovery policy in accordance with the Fisheries Act 1995 and the Fisheries (Fees, Royalties and Levies) Regulations 2008; and
• Align stock assessments with Victoria’s stock reporting and the Commonwealth Status of Key Australian Fish Stocks (SAFS), as well as Victoria’s State of Marine Environment reporting.
This review updates previous assessments of stock status for non-quota managed species in terms of their biological performance. Importantly it does not consider the expected success/failure or otherwise of current or alternative management approaches, or foreseeable changes in management of fishing effort. Consideration of future or previously implemented management responses to stock status issues would be expected to occur as part of follow up discussions/integrated risk assessments. Relative importance of each species/stock was based primarily on consideration of relative catch, gross value of production (GVP) and or assumed relative catch or social value (i.e. recreational dominated species). Recent Status of Australian Fish Stocks classifications are also included together with key points about each species’ performance.
Thirty-five species each comprising one or more of the main stocks were assessed as follows:
• Relative importance of the stocks in accordance with an internal VFA index was 13 high, 9 moderate and 19 low, and the remaining three (1 × octopus and 2 × sea urchin species) classed as developing or recently developed;
• Twenty-three of the 44 stocks (52%) have been classed as ‘sustainable in accordance with the SAFS classification system and six of the stocks (5 species) in this report were not assessed for SAFS 2022;
• None of species was classed as ‘depleted’ or ‘depleting’ and five, Murray Cod, Southern Sand Flathead, Golden Perch, Black Bream (Gippsland Lakes stock), and Yelloweye Mullet have been assigned a ‘recovering’ classification for the 2022 SAFS assessment, noting that this is an external process where SAFS classifications in a limited number of instances may be at variance with VFA classifications, especially where a stock is shared among interstate or Commonwealth jurisdictions.
The outcomes of this review of the status of Victorian fish stocks will be used to meet the requirements of State and Commonwealth stock status reporting and to inform Victorian and interstate fisheries managers and scientists of the status of key cross-jurisdictional stocks.
A biological and biochemical study of two species of sea bream Acanthopagrus arabicus (Iwatsuki, 2013) and Sparidentex hasta (Valenciennes, 1830) fromShatt Al-Arab River-Southern Iraq ABSTRACT-Due to the importance of sea bream, Acanthopagrus arabicus (Iwatsuki, 2013) and Sparidentex hasta (Valenciennes, 1830),the current study aimed to identify some of the biology aspects and biochemical contents of these two species for both fisheries and aquaculture industry.During the time from January 2018 to June 2018, samples of both species were obtained. In which the relationship between fish lengths and weights was studied, a simple regression between lengths and weights and their mathematical expression was analyzed.The absolute condition factor (K)and the relative condition factor (Kn) of both species were also determined.The study found that the sizes of S hasta fish are larger than that of the sizes of A arabicus, as their lengths ranged between 9 to 25 cm (average length of 17 cm) while they were in the A. arabicus fish 9-19 cm (average length of 14 cm).and the weights of S. hasta fish ranged between 19.64 g to 87.32 g, with an average weight of 52.24 g, whereas in the A. arabicus, it was 18.10 to 43.70 g, with average weight of 37.92 (g).The equation of the length-to-weight relationship for the A.rabicus fish was W= 1.541 + 2.639 L, and W= 0.39 + 2.800L for S. hastafish. The absolute (K) were 44311and 44013of the two species respectively, relative condition (Kn) were 04910 for A. arabicus and 04999 for S. hasta.Fish muscles were taken to measure the chemical composition. The results indicated that S.hasta fish have the highest percentage of meat (yield %), high protein and fat content, as the yield % reached 48.97 ± 2.54 %, protein content 19.5 ± 1.89, and fat content 8.1 ± 0.53 compared to yield % , protein and fat content of A.arabicusfish meat45.63±2.08%, 18.79 ± 0.50 and 3.31 ± 1.01%respectively. Based on these results, the two species are good source of protein, fat and minerals, and provide useful data for both fisheries management, and aquaculture industry.
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