Frigate Mackerel (Auxis Thazard) Exploitation Status Undefined

I & I NSW Wild Fisheries research Program Frigate Mackerel (Auxis thazard) Exploitation Status Undefined

A small pelagic species with low and fluctuating commercial landings. Recreational catch may be significant. Minimal information currently available.

Scientific name Standard name comment

Auxis thazard frigate mackerel Also known as leadenall.

Auxis thazard Image © Bernard Yau

Background dorsal fins - in these other species, the dorsal fins are very close together and often almost The frigate mackerel (Auxis thazard) is a small, touching at their bases. Frigate mackerel grow pelagic, tuna-like member of the family to almost 60 cm fork length and a weight Scombridae which includes tunas, mackerels, of nearly 4 kg but they are more commonly and bonitos. It is a highly migratory species 25-40 cm and 0.3-1.3 kg. Because of their with a worldwide distribution through all abundance, frigate mackerel are considered to tropical and subtropical seas. In Australia, it be an important component of the food chain. is found around the whole of the mainland Their primary food sources include small fish, although it is more abundant in northern squids, and planktonic larval crustaceans while waters. The frigate mackerel is primarily an in turn, frigate mackerel are preyed upon by open water species preferring coastal seas, larger fish such as tunas and billfish. but it is known to enter sheltered bays and harbours e.g. it is occasionally caught in Sydney The NSW commercial fishery for frigate Harbour. It usually inhabits the top 50 m of the mackerel is very seasonal, with almost all the water column, but has been reported as deep catch taken during summer. Most is taken by as 200 m. the Ocean Hauling Fishery but the reported landings are highly variable, ranging between Frigate mackerel can be distinguished from about 2 and 20 t per annum since the year other similar species of small, striped tunas 2000. Because of their dark, oily flesh, frigate such as the true bonitos (Sarda spp.), mackerel mackerel have low market acceptance and are tuna (Euthynnus affinis) and skipjack tuna commonly used for bait by both commercial (Katsuwonus pelamis) by its very widely spaced and recreational fishers.

status of fisheries resources in nsw, 2008/09 Frigate Mackerel | p 137 wild fisheries research program

Additional Notes Further Reading • Small species (< 3 kg) which occurs in coastal Collette, B.B. and C.E. Nauen (1983). Scombrids of the waters around all Australian states. World. An Annotated and Illustrated Catalogue of Tunas, Mackerels, Bonitos and Related Species • Minimal biological information is currently Known to Date. Rome, FAO: 137 pp. available. Collette, B.B. and C.R. Aadland (1996). Revision of the • Frigate mackerel are a conditional target frigate tunas (Scombridae, Auxis) with descriptions species in the Ocean Hauling Fishery and are of two new subspecies from the eastern Pacific. caught sporadically. Fishery Bulletin 94: 423-441. • Mainly utilised for bait by the commercial Glaister, J.P. and J.H. Diplock (1993). Baitfish and the east coast tuna and billfish fishery: Species, status fishery. and situation. AFMA East Coast Tuna Management • Recreational catch may be greater than Advisory Committee: 114 pp. commercial landings. Henry, G.W. and J.M. Lyle (2003). The National Recreational and Indigenous Fishing Survey. Final Report to the Fisheries Research & Development Catch Corporation and the Fisheries Action Program Project FRDC 1999/158. NSW Fisheries Final Report Recreational Catch of Frigate Mackerel Series No. 48. 188pp. Cronulla, NSW Fisheries. The annual recreational harvest of frigate Hoese, D.F., D.J. Bray, J.R. Paxton and G.R. Allen (2006). mackerel in NSW is likely to be less than 20 t. Fishes. Zoological Catalogue of Australia. P. L. This estimate is based upon the results of the Beesley and A. Wells, ABRS & CSIRO Publishing. 35: offsite National Recreational and Indigenous 1770. Fishing Survey (Henry and Lyle, 2003) and Hutchins, B. and R. Swainston (1999). Sea Fishes of onsite surveys undertaken by I & I NSW. Southern Australia - Complete Field Guide for Anglers and Divers. Smithfield, NSW, Gary Allen. McCulloch, A.R. (1922). Check List of the Fishes and Fish-like Animals of New South Wales. Sydney, Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales. Historical Landings of Frigate Mackerel Yearsley, G.K., P.R. Last and R.D. Ward (1999). Australian Seafood Handbook. Hobart, CSIRO Marine Research. 20 Please visit the CSIRO website, http://www.marine.csiro.au/caab/ and search for the 15 species code (CAAB) 37 441009, common name or scientific name to find further information. 10 Landings (t) 5 0

93/94 95/96 97/98 99/00 01/02 03/04 05/06 07/08 Financial Year

Commercial landings (including available historical records) of frigate mackerel for NSW from 1993/94 to 2008/09 for all fishing methods. Financial years where commercial catch was reported by less than six fishermen were removed due to privacy concerns.

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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. p 138 | Frigate Mackerel