Trumpeter Whiting (Sillago Maculata)

I & I NSW Wild Fisheries research Program Trumpeter Whiting (Sillago maculata)

Exploitation Status undefined

Small commercial and recreational landings, mainly from a few estuaries. Biological studies of growth and maturity have recently been completed, but estimates of mortality rates from size and age composition data are lacking.

Scientific name Standard name comment

Sillago maculata trumpeter whiting Also known as winter whiting.

Sillago maculata Image © Bernard Yau

Background Trumpeter whiting forage for burrowing or Trumpeter whiting (Sillago maculata) are benthic animals and eat mainly polychaete distributed along the east coast of Australia. worms, crustaceans (amphipods, shrimps, They favour silty or muddy substrates in crabs), bivalve molluscs and a variety of other estuaries and coastal embayments. Juvenile benthic animals and small fish. trumpeter whiting are found in estuarine seagrasses and shallow habitats, while adults Trumpeter whiting are caught commercially by are common in deeper estuarine waters down hauling and seine nets in shallow water (Estuary to depths of 30 m. General Fishery) and by otter trawl in slightly deeper water (Estuary Prawn Trawl Fishery). Trumpeter whiting grow to about 30 cm fork length (FL) and a weight of about 260 g. They The recreational catch of trumpeter whiting is reach a maximum age of about 12 years, significant and is probably around the same mature at a length of about 15 cm FL and order of magnitude as commercial landings. typically spawn within estuaries during spring and summer.

status of fisheries resources in nsw, 2008/09 Trumpeter Whiting | p 355 wild fisheries research program

Additional Notes Catch Per Unit Effort Information of Trumpeter • The recreational catch is probably of a similar Whiting Harvested by Hauling in NSW order of magnitude as commercial landings. • Fish mature between 1-3 years old and live to 1.0 a maximum of 12 years. 0.8 • Species is subject to highly variable

recruitment, which means that estimates of 0.6 mortality will also be variable.

• There is a combined recreational bag limit of 0.4

20 for all whiting. Relative Catch Rate 0.2

Catch 0.0 Recreational Catch of Trumpeter Whiting 98/99 00/01 02/03 04/05 06/07 08/09 Financial Year The annual recreational harvest of trumpeter Catch rates of trumpeter whiting harvested using hauling whiting in NSW is likely to lie between 10 for NSW. Two indicators are provided: (1) median catch rate (lower solid line); and (2) 90th percentile of the catch and 30 t. This estimate is based upon the rate (upper dashed line). Note that catch rates are not a results of the offsite National Recreational and robust indicator of abundance in many cases. Caution Indigenous Fishing Survey (Henry and Lyle, sho uld be applied when interpreting these results. 2003) and onsite surveys undertaken by I & I NSW.

Historical Landings of Trumpeter Whiting Growth Curve of Trumpeter Whiting 80

25 female male 60 20 40 15 Landings (t) FL (cm) 20 10 5 0

58/59 68/69 78/79 88/89 98/99 08/09

Financial Year 0

Commercial landings (including available historical 0 2 4 6 8 10 records) of trumpeter whiting for NSW from 1954/55 to Ring Count (years) 2008/09 for all fishing methods. Growth curves of trumpeter whiting using parameters from Kendall and Gray (2009). Lengths are presented as fork Landings by Commercial Fishery of Trumpeter length (FL). Whiting Estuary Prawn Trawl (Byproduct Species)

Estuary General (Key Secondary Species) 80 60 40 Landings (t) 20 0

97/98 99/00 01/02 03/04 05/06 07/08

Financial Year Reported landings of trumpeter whiting by NSW commercial fisheries from 1997/98. Fisheries which contribute less than 2.5% of the landings are excluded for clarity and privacy. p 356 | Trumpeter Whiting status of fisheries resources in nsw, 2008/09

Length Frequency of Trumpeter Whiting Further Reading Broadhurst, M.K., D.J. Young, C.A. Gray and M.E.L. 1949/50−1950/51

0.25 Wooden (2005). Improving selection in south n = 371 eastern Australian whiting (Sillago spp.) trawls:

0.20 effects of modifying the body, extension and codend, Scientia Marina 69: 301-311. 0.15 Butcher, P., M. Broadhurst and C. Brand (2005). The Proportion

0.10 mighty whiting. Fishing World, October edition. 80-81.

0.05 Gray, C.A. and S.K. Kennelly (2003). Catch characteristics of the commercial beach-seine 0.00 fisheries in two Australian barrier estuaries, Fisheries 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 Research 63: 405-422. Henry, G.W. and J.M. Lyle (2003). The National 1972/73−1974/75 Recreational and Indigenous Fishing Survey. Final 0.25 n = 653 Report to the Fisheries Research & Development

0.20 Corporation and the Fisheries Action Program Project FRDC 1999/158. NSW Fisheries Final Report

0.15 Series No. 48. 188 pp. Cronulla, NSW Fisheries.

Proportion Kendall, B.W. and C.A. Gray (2009). Reproduction, age 0.10 and growth of Sillago maculata in south-eastern Australia. Journal of Applied Ichthyology 25 (5): 0.05 529-536.

0.00 Steffe, A.S. and D.J. Chapman (2003).A survey of 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 daytime recreational fishing during the annual period, March 1999 to February 2000, in Lake Macquarie, New South Wales. 124 pp. Sydney, NSW 1995/96−1996/97

0.25 Fisheries. n = 6848 Steffe, A.S., J.J. Murphy, D.J. Chapman and C.C. Gray 0.20 (2005). An assessment of changes in the daytime recreational fishery of Lake Macquarie following the 0.15 establishment of a ‘Recreational Fishing Haven’. Proportion

0.10 103 pp. Cronulla, NSW Fisheries. 0.05 Please visit the CSIRO website,

0.00 http://www.marine.csiro.au/caab/ and search for the 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 species code (CAAB) 37 330015, common name or FL (cm) scientific name to find further information. The length distribution of trumpeter whiting in NSW commercial landings was relatively stable between the 1970s and the 1990s, and was comprised mainly of fish between 18 and 25 cm fork length (FL). There is no minimum legal length for trumpeter whiting in NSW.

© State of New South Wales through Industry and Investment NSW 2010. You may copy, distribute and otherwise freely deal with this publication for any purpose, provided that you attribute Industry and Investment NSW as the owner.

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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