Southern Calamari (Sepioteuthis Australis)

I & I NSW Wild Fisheries research Program Southern Calamari (Sepioteuthis australis)

Exploitation Status Undefined

Significant commercial and recreational landings. The biology of the species has not been studied in NSW, but in southern Australia calamari are known to be short-lived and fast growing.

Scientific name common name comment

Sepioteuthis australis southern calamari

Sepioteuthis australis Image © Bernard Yau

Background Southern calamari (Sepioteuthis australis) are months. They produce multiple batches of eggs found in estuarine and near-shore coastal (numbering up to several hundred) which are waters around southern Australia (including attached to seagrass, macro-algae, hard reef Tasmania) from about Brisbane, Queensland to and even sandy substrates. Perth, WA; they are also found off northern New NSW landings of southern calamari have Zealand. The species is an important fishery been recorded separately since 1990. Most resource off NSW, Tasmania, and SA. are caught by ocean trawlers and landings Southern calamari are reported to be relatively have been relatively stable at around 60 to fast growing, short-lived squid, with a 80 t per annum, except for a period in the maximum age of about 1 year. Males can reach late 1990s when landings exceeded 100 t per 50 cm mantle length (ML) and females 40 cm annum. Recreational anglers in NSW also take ML in South Australian waters. Large calamari in significant quantities of southern calamari in NSW catches measure around 30-35 cm ML and estuaries and near shore ocean waters. weigh about 1 kg. The species is a significant catch in fish trawls in The biology of the species has been extensively the Sydney to Port Stephens area of NSW and studied off southern Australia where it was extensive length-frequency and biological data found that sexual maturity was attained at are available from the Fisheries Research Vessel about 7-8 months of age and 15-20 cm ML. Kapala surveys. However, there has been no Females mate with a number of males and store formal stock assessment for southern calamari the sperm before spawning in relatively shallow in NSW. (3 - 5 m) depths mainly during the summer

status of fisheries resources in nsw, 2008/09 Southern Calamari | p 303 wild fisheries research program

Additional Notes Landings by Commercial Fishery of Southern Calamari • A short lived species which is a very important component of commercial and Ocean Prawn Trawl (Primary Species) recreational catches. Recent recreational Fish Trawl (Primary Species) catches are not well estimated. Estuary General • Commercial landings and catch-rates are

reasonably stable, but do fluctuate (probably 150 as a result of recruitment variability).

• Trawl gears can retain small sizes (<10 cm 100 mantle length) but the majority of the catch

is comprised of calamari larger than 10 cm Landings (t)

mantle length. 50 • Local information on growth and mortality

rates would assist assessment. 0 97/98 99/00 01/02 03/04 05/06 07/08 • There is a combined recreational bag limit of 20 for all squid and cuttlefish. Financial Year Reported landings of southern calamari by NSW commercial fisheries from 1997/98. Fisheries which contribute less than 2.5% of the landings are excluded Catch for clarity and privacy. Recreational Catch of Southern Calamari The annual recreational harvest of southern calamari in NSW is likely to lie between 10 Catch Per Unit Effort Information of Southern and 40 t. This estimate is based upon the Calamari Harvested by Fish Trawling in NSW results of the offsite National Recreational and Indigenous Fishing Survey (Henry and Lyle, 1.0 2003) and onsite surveys undertaken by I & I NSW. 0.8 0.6 Historical Landings of Southern Calamari 0.4 150 Relative Catch Rate 0.2 100 0.0

93/94 98/99 03/04 08/09 Financial Year Landings (t)

50 Catch rates of southern calamari harvested using fish trawling for NSW. Two indicators are provided: (1) median catch rate (lower solid line); and (2) 90th percentile of the catch rate (upper dashed line). Note that catch rates

0 are not a robust indicator of abundance in many cases. Caution should be applied when interpreting these 90/91 92/93 94/95 96/97 98/99 00/01 02/03 04/05 06/07 08/09 results. Financial Year Commercial Landings (including available historical records) of southern calamari for NSW from 1990/91 to 2008/09 for all fishing methods.

p 304 | Southern Calamari status of fisheries resources in nsw, 2008/09

Length Frequency of Southern Calamari Moltschaniwskyj, N., G. Pecl and J. Lyle (2002). An assessment of the use of short-term closures to protect spawning southern calamary aggregations 0.06 1992/93−1994/95 from fishing pressure in Tasmania, Australia.Bulletin n = 5587

0.05 of Marine Science 71 (1): 501-514.

0.04 Nottage, J.D., R.J. West, S.S. Montgomery and K. Graham (2007). Cephalopod diversity in commercial

0.03 fisheries landings of New South Wales, Australia.

Proportion Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries 17: 271-281. 0.02 Pecl, G.T. (2004). The in situ relationships between

0.01 season of hatching, growth and condition in the southern calamary, Sepioteuthis australis. Marine and 0.00 Freshwater Research 55 (4): 429-438. 0 10 20 30 40 ML (cm) Pecl, G.T. and N.A. Moltschaniwskyj (2006). Life history of a short-lived squid (Sepioteuthis australis): The length distribution of southern calamari caught resource allocation as a function of size, growth, during trawl surveys by the Fisheries Research Vessel maturation, and hatching season. ICES Journal of Kapala was comprised mostly of calamari between Marine Science 63 (6): 995-1004. 5 and 25 cm mantle length (ML). There is no minimum legal length for calamari in NSW. Pecl, G.T., N.A. Moltschaniwskyj, S.R. Tracey and A.R. Jordan (2004). Inter-annual plasticity of squid life history and population structure: ecological and management implications. Oecologia 139 (4): 515- Further Reading 524. Henry, G.W. and J.M. Lyle (2003). The National Triantafillos, L. (2004). Effects of genetic and Recreational and Indigenous Fishing Survey. Final environmental factors on growth of southern Report to the Fisheries Research & Development calamary, Sepioteuthis australis, from southern Corporation and the Fisheries Action Program Australia and northern New Zealand. Marine and Project FRDC 1999/158. NSW Fisheries Final Report Freshwater Research 55 (4): 439-446. Series No. 48. 188 pp. Cronulla, NSW Fisheries. Steer, M.A., A.J. Fowler, W.B. Jackson and P.R. Jennings Hibberd, T. and G.T. Pecl (2007). Effects of commercial (2005). Southern Calamary (Sepioteuthis australis) fishing on the population structure of spawning Fishery. Fishery Assessment Report to PIRSA. SARDI southern calamary (Sepioteuthis australis). Reviews in Research Report Series No. 10, SARDI Aquatic Fish Biology and Fisheries 17: 207-221. Sciences Publication No. RD05/0006. Ho, J.D., N.A. Moltschaniwskyj and C.G. Carter (2004). The effect of variability in growth on somatic condition and reproductive status in the southern Please visit the CSIRO website, calamary Sepioteuthis australis. Marine and http://www.marine.csiro.au/caab/ and search for the Freshwater Research 55 (4): 423-428. species code (CAAB) 23 617005, common name or scientific name to find further information. Jackson, G.D. and G. Pecl (2003). The dynamics of the summer-spawning population of the loliginid squid (Sepioteuthis australis) in Tasmania, Australia - a conveyor belt of recruits. ICES Journal of Marine Science 60 (2): 290-296. Moltschaniwskyj, N.A. and M.A. Steer (2004). Spatial and seasonal variation in reproductive characteristics and spawning of southern calamary (Sepioteuthis australis): spreading the mortality risk. ICES Journal of Marine Science 61 (6): 921-927.

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Disclaimer: The information contained in this publication is based on knowledge and understanding at the time of writing (April 2010). However, because of advances in knowledge, users are reminded of the need to ensure that information upon which they rely is up to date and to check currency of the information with the appropriate officer of Industry and Investment NSW or the user’s independent adviser.

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