Annual Status Report 2009 East Coast Inshore Fin Fish Fishery
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Annual status report 2009 East Coast Inshore Fin Fish Fishery On 26 March 2009, the Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries was amalgamated with other government departments to form the Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation. © The State of Queensland, Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation, 2010. Except as permitted by the Copyright Act 1968, no part of the work may in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or any other means be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or be broadcast or transmitted without the prior written permission of the Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. The copyright owner shall not be liable for technical or other errors or omissions contained herein. 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Annual Status Report 2009—East Coast Inshore Fin Fish Fishery 1 Fishery profile 2008 Key species Total number of commercial licences in 2008 Commercial–sea mullet, shark, whiting, bream, flathead 485 net fishery symbols, 1543 line fishery symbols and 378 tailor, small mackerels, threadfins, barramundi and garfish charter licences Recreational–whiting, bream, trevally, flathead, dart, tailor, barramundi, grunters, threadfins and small mackerels Total harvest from all sectors Commercial licences accessing the fishery in 2008 9039 t 448 net fishery symbols, 385 line fishery symbols and 235 charter licences Commercial harvest Fishery symbols 5955 t ‘N’, ‘L’ or ‘K’ fishery symbols Recreational harvest Monitoring undertaken No estimate; in 2005 approximately 3000 t harvested and Yes. Grey and spotted mackerels, sand whiting, yellowfin 4400 t released bream, dusky flathead, tailor, barramundi and sea mullet. Charter harvest Fishery Observer Program - days monitored in 2008 84 t 104 observer sea days Indigenous harvest Accreditation under the EPBC Act No estimate available Yes1–Expires: 28 February 2012 Commercial Gross Value of Production (GVP) Logbook validation $22.4 million Nil Allocation between sectors Fishery season The ECIFFF commercial sector contributes the most to the Annual seasonal closures apply to barramundi fishing total harvest of mullet and shark on the Queensland east between 1 Nov and 1 Feb. A general seasonal fishing closure coast. The recreational sector substantially exceeds the applies to near shore waters between Indian Head and Waddy commercial harvest of a number of species: notably tailor, Point, Fraser Island, from 1 August to 30 September. bream and trevally. Total exports Quota managed Export markets for mullet roe, shark and small mackerel Spotted mackerel (240 t) and tailor (120 t) for the reporting products. No estimate available. year 2008. Commencing 1 July 2009, Total Allowable Commercial Catch levels in place for sharks and Rays (600 t), grey mackerel (250 t). 1 Wildlife Trade Operation approval granted 28 February 2009 Approved under Part 13 of the EPBC Act subject to conditions applied under section 303FT. Annual Status Report 2009―East Coast Inshore Fin Fish Fishery 2 Key fish resources Stock status Spotted Mackerel Scomberomorus munroi Sustainably Fished Comments: At current fishing levels Spotted mackerel is considered sustainably fished. Trevally complex Carangidae spp. No Assessment Made Comments: Time series of individual species is needed. Based on line fishery catches only. Both net and line components of the trevally harvest will be combined in the stock status assessment planned for 2010. Other target species Not yet assessed Comments: The key resources listed above will be assessed as a part of the Fisheries Queensland stock status workshop during 2010–11. Annual Status Report 2009—East Coast Inshore Fin Fish Fishery 3 Introduction The East Coast Inshore Fin Fish Fishery (ECIFFF) is Queensland’s largest and most diverse fishery and comprises commercial, recreational, charter and Indigenous sectors. The commercial sector is Queensland’s third most valuable commercial fishery, targeting a number of fin fish species, using a variety of different net fishing methods. Some species are also taken commercially by hook and line. This report covers fishing activity during the 2008 calendar year and any changes to management arrangements up to August 2009. Fishery description The area of the ECIFFF includes all tidal waters along Queensland’s east coast eastward of 142º09’E near Crab Island (approximately 11.0ºS) to the boundary of the Offshore Constitutional Settlement to the New South Wales border (Figure 1). Different fishery symbols allow different Figure 1: ECIFFF Net fishery areas. gear to be used commercially in different areas: ‘N’ symbols allow the use of mesh, haul (seine), and tunnel nets in inshore, estuarine and offshore waters (Figure 1); ‘K’ symbols allow the use of seine nets on ocean beaches (Figure 2); and ‘L’ fishery symbols allow the use of line fishing gear throughout the fishery area (Figure 3). The ECIFFF is a multi-species, multi gear fishery. Gear permitted in the commercial fishery includes mesh, haul (seine), tunnel and cast nets as well as hook and line. Most commercial fishers prefer to use net sizes that selectively catch fish of a certain size to meet market demand. The number of nets permitted to be used, mesh size and length is dependent on the species being targeted and whether the fisher is operating in near-shore or offshore waters. Permitted net and line fishing gears are currently prescribed under the Fisheries Regulation 2008. Fishing area and methods Recreational gear includes cast nets, small seine (bait) nets and hook and line. Indigenous communities use traditional subsistence Figure 2: ECIFFF Ocean Beach fishery areas fishing methods for traditional and customary purposes to supply product solely for community use, as well as The commercial fishery comprises a number of types of recreational fishing practices to catch ECIFFF species. fishing operations that differ fundamentally on the basis of the fishing gear used to target regionally important species. Annual Status Report 2009―East Coast Inshore Fin Fish Fishery 4 Key species fast growing, with length at first maturity for females estimated at 61 cm and males at 50 cm total length (TL) at The following information was adapted from Williams about two years of age. (2002). Yellowfin bream Barramundi Yellowfin bream (Acanthopagrus australis) are found in the The barramundi (Lates calcarifer) is a large predatory fish coastal and estuarine waters of the eastern coast of species that can grow to 150 cm TL, 60 kg and over 30 Australia from Queensland to Victoria. In southern years of age. It is found in coastal regions of tropical Queensland yellow-fin bream spawn between May and Australia and throughout much of the Indo-West Pacific August in the vicinity of surf bars. They reach minimum and is dependent on fresh and estuarine waters to legal size (23 cm TL) at around three to five years of age. complete its life cycle. Barramundi generally spawn around The proportion of female yellowfin bream increases with river mouths and the post-larvae and juveniles migrate to fish size. The smallest mature female yellowfin bream are nearby coastal swamps, lagoons and upstream freshwater usually found at about 24 cm total length, and males at a areas that serve as protected, food rich nursery habitats. slightly smaller size. Yellowfin bream are omnivorous, Tropical sharks eating small crustaceans, molluscs and fish as well as algae, seagrass and mangrove leaf litter. Commercial harvest of sharks consists mainly of whaler sharks, in particular the Australian Blacktip whaler Whiting (Carcharhinus tilstoni) and Spot tail whaler (Carcharhinus There are four main species in the “inshore whiting” group. sorrah). The sharks that dominate the east coast fisheries The species are golden-lined (Sillago analis), sand (S. generally attain sexual maturity at over 1 m in total length ciliata), trumpeter (S. maculata) and northern (S. sihama) at around 3–4 years of age. They are viviparous, generally whiting. producing three to five pups during summer months after a 7–12 month gestation. Tropical shark species generally Golden-lined whiting spawn between July and March. have an Indo-West Pacific distribution. Spawning areas and times are similar to that of the sand whiting. Juveniles and adults both inhabit areas of mud- Grey mackerel sandy substrate. Total length at first maturity of golden- Grey mackerel (Scomberomorus semifasciatus) is a pelagic lined whiting is around 22 cm, which corresponds to an species endemic to waters across northern Australia and age of two to three years. adjacent PNG and larvae and juveniles are dependent on Sand whiting school and spawn from September to March. estuarine and inshore habitats (Cameron & Begg 2002). Juvenile and adolescent sand whiting prefer shallow They are a fast growing species with total length (TL) at first waters in rivers and creeks over seagrass beds, and maturity for females of 75 cm TL and males of 65 cm TL at adjacent mangroves. Adults share these juvenile habitats, between one and two years of age. but tend to move to deeper water as they grow. Estimated total lengths at first maturity for male and female sand Spotted mackerel whiting range from 20 to 28 cm. Age at maturity is about 2 Spotted mackerel (Scomberomorus munroi) are pelagic to 3 years. predators that feed exclusively on open water baitfish Trumpeter whiting spawn between July and February with a (anchovies, herring and pilchards). They are distributed peak in September–October Juvenile fish are most across the northern coast of Australia to Coffs Harbour in abundant in estuaries and shallow water, especially in central New South Wales. They are a schooling species seagrass beds during the summer months. They move into preferring the clear oceanic-influenced waters as juveniles deeper water as they mature.