Queensland the Smart State Reducing uncertainty in the assessment of the Australian spanner crab fishery I. W. Brown1, J. Scandol2, D. Mayer3, M. Campbell1, S. Kondylas1, M. McLennan1, A. Williams4, K. Krusic-Golub5, and T. Treloar6 1 Southern Fisheries Centre, Dept Primary Industries and Fisheries, Deception Bay, Qld 2 NSW DPI Fisheries, Cronulla, NSW 3 Animal Research Institute, Dept Primary Industries and Fisheries, Yeerongpilly, Qld 4 Queensland Climate Change Centre of Excellence, Nambour, Qld 5 Central Ageing Facility, Queenscliff, Victoria 6 Food Technology Institute, Dept Primary Industries and Fisheries, Hamilton, Brisbane Qld PROJECT REPORT PR07-3314 FRDC Project No. 2003/046 July 2008 Reducing uncertainty in the assessment of the Australian spanner crab fishery I.W. Brown1, J. Scandol2, D Mayer3, M. Campbell1, S. Kondylas1, M. McLennan1, A. Williams4, K. Krusic-Golub5 and T. Treloar6. 1 Southern Fisheries Centre, Deception Bay, Qld 2 NSW DPI Fisheries, Cronulla, NSW 3 Animal Research Institute, Yeerongpilly, Qld 4 Queensland Climate Change Centre of Excellence, Nambour, Qld 5 Central Ageing Facility, Queenscliff, Victoria 6 Food Technology Institute, Hamilton, Brisbane, Qld Project No. 2003/046 July 2008 Reducing uncertainty in the assessment of the Australian spanner crab fishery (FRDC 2003/046) I.W. Brown, J. Scandol, D. Mayer, M. Campbell, S. Kondylas, M. McLennan, A. Williams, K Krusic- Golub, and T. Treloar. Published by the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, Queensland. © Fisheries Research and Development Corporation and the Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries (2008). This work is copyright. Except as permitted by the Copyright Act 1968 (Commonwealth), reproduction by any means (photocopying, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise), making available on-line, electronic transmission or other publication of this material is prohibited without the specific prior written permission of the copyright owners. Neither may information be stored electronically in any form whatsoever without such permission. The Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries (DPI&F) seeks to maximise the economic potential of Queensland’s primary industries on a sustainable basis. The Fisheries Research and Development Corporation plans, invests in and manages fisheries research and development throughout Australia. It is a statutory authority within the portfolio of the federal Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, jointly funded by the Australian Government and the fishing industry. This publication has been compiled by Dr Ian W Brown (Southern Fisheries Centre, Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries). While every care has been taken in preparing this publication, the State of Queensland accepts no responsibility for decisions or actions taken as a result of data, information, statement or advice, expressed or implied, contained in this report. The authors do not warrant that that the information in this publiction is free from errors or omissions. Nor do the authors accept any form of liability, be it contractual, tortious or otherwise, for the contents of this publication or for any consequences arising from its use or any reliance placed upon it. The information, opinions and advice contained in this publication may not relate to, or be relevant to, a reader’s particular circumstances. Opinions expressed by the authors are the individual opinions of those persons and are not necessarily those of the publisher or research provider. PR07-3314 ISBN 978 0 7345 0394 7 Enquiries should be addressed to: Intellectual Property and Commercialisation Unit Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries GPO Box 46 Brisbane Qld 4001 or [email protected] Tel.: +61 7 3404 6999 TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures ……………………………………………………….………………...……..v List of Tables ………………………………………………………………………………..ix Non-Technical Summary ……………………………………………………………………xi Acknowledgements ………………………………………………………………..……….xiii Background ………………………………………………………………………………...xiii Need ……………………………………………………………………..…….……….......xiv Objectives …………………………………………………………………………..…….... xv References …………………………………………………………………………………..xv Chapter 1. AGE DETERMINATION ................................................................................................ 1 1.1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................ 1 1.2 MATERIALS AND METHODS ..................................................................................................... 3 1.2.1 Sampling operations............................................................................................................ 3 Dredging............................................................................................................................. 3 Light-trapping trials ...........................................................................................................3 Megalopa swarm sampling................................................................................................. 4 Sampling extended size-range with modified dillies (flat tangle nets)................................ 5 1.2.2 Known-age population ........................................................................................................ 6 Rearing system.................................................................................................................... 6 Feeding and maintenance................................................................................................... 7 1.2.3 Tissue sampling for lipofuscin determination ..................................................................... 8 Overview of method development and tissue selection....................................................... 8 Cerebral ganglia............................................................................................................... 10 Optic nerve (eyestalk tissue) ............................................................................................. 10 1.2.4 Tissue Processing .............................................................................................................. 10 Chemical extraction method ............................................................................................. 10 Histofluorometric method................................................................................................. 11 Telomere trials.................................................................................................................. 13 1.2.5 Detection of length modes in wild-caught pre-recruits ..................................................... 14 1.2.6 Condition index (commercial catch sampling).................................................................. 14 1.3 RESULTS ................................................................................................................................15 1.3.1 Collection of material........................................................................................................ 15 Dredging........................................................................................................................... 15 Light traps......................................................................................................................... 15 Megalopa swarm .............................................................................................................. 16 Page i FRDC Project 2003/046 1.3.2 Maintenance, survival and growth of captive population.................................................. 16 Feeding ............................................................................................................................. 16 Survival............................................................................................................................. 16 1.3.3 Lipofuscin assay: chemical extraction method.................................................................. 17 Alternative extraction method........................................................................................... 19 ELISA assay for the measurement of MDA-modified protein........................................... 19 1.3.4 Lipofuscin assay: histological method. ............................................................................. 20 Identification of appropriate tissues (eyestalk and brain)................................................ 20 Whole eyestalk specimen decalcification.......................................................................... 21 Post-settlement stages: whole sectioning for brain tissue. ............................................... 22 Relationship between brain lipofuscin concentration and body size................................ 23 Variability in lipofuscin concentration between left and right eyestalks.......................... 25 Sampling with modified tangle-nets for lipofuscin concentration frequency distribution analysis ............................................................................................................................. 26 1.3.5 Growth indications from modal shift in pre-recruits......................................................... 29 1.3.6 Genetic (telomere) method................................................................................................ 31 1.3.7 Moult cycle.......................................................................................................................