I & I NSW Wild research Program ( spp.)

Exploitation Status Undefined

An incidental catch of trawling, tilefish apparently have a restricted distribution off NSW. Commercial landings and size composition data are available, and a biological study is underway.

Scientific name Standard name comment

Branchiostegus wardi pink tilefish The major component of tilefish landings.

Branchiostegus serratus Australian barred tilefish Small quantities landed.

Branchiostegus wardi Image © Bernard Yau

Background Pink tilefish prefer mud or sandy substrates, and they are reported to live in burrows. Tilefish Two species of tilefish inhabit NSW waters - the feed on molluscs, worms, squid, and small pink tilefish, Branchiostegus( wardi) and the less fish. Tilefish larvae are pelagic with distinct commonly caught barred tilefish B.( serratus). patterns of spines along the head and on their They mainly inhabit depths between about scales. These spines are shed when the larvae 50 and 200 m although the barred tilefish has develop into benthic juveniles. Pink tilefish been caught as deep as 350 m. Both have a grow to about 50 cm maximum length. The relatively restricted distribution along the east majority of small fish (< 40 cm) are female while coast of Australia, between Noosa Heads in male fish dominate the larger size classes. southern Queensland and eastern Bass Strait. The pink tilefish has also been reported from Almost all the NSW tilefish catch is landed by New Caledonia. fish and prawn trawlers working off Newcastle- Port Stephens and is comprised mostly of pink The pink tilefish is mainly plain pink on the tilefish. The annual catch has reached 11 t but body, grading to pink/white on the belly and is mostly less than 5 t. Tilefish are marketed as has a colourful caudal fin bearing two broad fresh fish, mainly in the Sydney Fish Markets. yellow stripes in the centre, a dark triangular Little has been published in relation to the patch on the lower part of the fin and yellow biology of the species; a study is currently and grey on the upper part of the fin. The underway investigating the growth and barred tilefish is more silver/white in body reproductive biology of pink tilefish. colour and has about 15-16 dark vertical bands prominent on the upper body.

status of fisheries resources in nsw, 2008/09 Tilefish | p 351 wild fisheries research program

Additional Notes Landings by Commercial of Tilefish • Pink tilefishBranchiostegus wardi is the Ocean Prawn Trawl (Key Secondary Species) main species taken - distribution is from Fish Trawl (Key Secondary Species) southern Queensland to eastern Bass Strait, but significant landings only occur in the 6

Newcastle/Nelson Bay area off central NSW. 5

• The environmental assessment for the Ocean 4 Trawl Fishery assigned a moderately-high risk for pink tilefish. 3 Landings (t)

• Tilefish are bottom dwelling fish that eat 2 and small fish species. Growth 1 and reproductive biology are currently being

studied. 0 97/98 99/00 01/02 03/04 05/06 07/08

• Tilefish have been traditionally reported as Financial Year ‘moonfish’, and there has been confusion in the catch records with the oceanic moonfish Reported landings of tilefish by NSW commercial fisheries from 1997/98. Fisheries which contribute less (opah) Lampris guttatus. Recent reported than 2.5% of the landings are excluded for clarity and landings of tilefish have apparently been privacy. Note that the landings since 2005/06 may have less than the amount marketed through the been greater than indicated due to issues with the Sydney Fish Markets. correct common name. • Taken only by trawling - commercial catch is low (recently less than 2 t) and fluctuates between years. Landings since 2005/06 have been lower than expected, and the reasons Catch Per Unit Effort Information of Tilefish for this are being investigated. Harvested by Fish Trawling in NSW 1.0 Catch

Recreational Catch of Tilefish 0.8

The annual recreational harvest of tilefish in 0.6 NSW is likely to be less than one tonne. 0.4 Relative Catch Rate

Historical Landings of Tilefish 0.2 0.0

10 93/94 98/99 03/04 08/09 Financial Year 8 Catch rates of tilefish harvested using fish trawling for

6 NSW. Two indicators are provided: (1) median catch rate (lower solid line); and (2) 90th percentile of the catch

Landings (t) rate (upper dashed line). Note that catch rates are not a 4 robust indicator of abundance in many cases. Caution should be applied when interpreting these results. 2 0

90/91 92/93 94/95 96/97 98/99 00/01 02/03 04/05 06/07 08/09 Financial Year

Commercial landings (including available historical records) of tilefish for NSW from 1990/91 to 2008/09 for all fishing methods. Note that the landings since 2005/06 may have been greater than indicated due to issues with the correct common name.

p 352 | Tilefish status of fisheries resources in nsw, 2008/09

Length Frequency of Pink Tilefish Further Reading Carpenter, K. (1999). Branchiostegidae. of the 0.14 2002/03−2004/05 n = 551 Western Central Pacific Ocean. Rome, FAO. 0.12 Dooley, K.J. and J.R. Paxton (1974). A new species 0.10 of tilefish (Family Branchiostegidae) from eastern

0.08 Australia. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 99: 151-156. 0.06 Proportion Gomon, M.F., J.C.M. Glover and R.H. Kuiter (1994). The 0.04 Fishes of Australia’s South Coast. Adelaide, State

0.02 Print.

0.00 Hutchins, B. and R. Swainston (1999). Sea Fishes of 20 30 40 50 60 Southern Australia - Complete Field Guide for Anglers and Divers. Smithfield, NSW, Gary Allen Pty Ltd.

0.14 2005/06−2006/07 n = 470 Kailola, P.J., M.J. Williams, P.C. Stewart, R.E. Reichelt, 0.12 A. McNee and C. Grieve, Eds. (1993). Australian

0.10 Fisheries Resources. Canberra, Australia, Bureau of Resource Sciences, Department of Primary 0.08 Industries and Energy, and the Fisheries Research 0.06 Proportion and Development Corporation.

0.04 Yearsley, G.K., P.R. Last and R.D. Ward (1999). Australian

0.02 Handbook. Hobart, CSIRO Marine Research. 0.00

20 30 40 50 60 Please visit the CSIRO website, http://www.marine.csiro.au/caab/ and search for the species code (CAAB) 37 331006 and 37 331005, 0.14 2007/08−2008/09 n = 659 common name or scientific name to find further 0.12 information. 0.10 0.08 0.06 Proportion 0.04 0.02 0.00

20 30 40 50 60 TL (cm)

The length distribution of pink tilefish landed by NSW commercial fishers is comprised mainly of fish between 25 and 50 cm total length (TL). There is no minimum legal length for pink tilefish 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.

Tilefish | p 353 wild fisheries research program

p 354 | Tilefish