Scalefish Fishery 2015/16 TASMANIAN SCALEFISH FISHERY ASSESSMENT 2017/18 Bradley Moore, Jeremy Lyle and Klaas Hartmann May 2019 This assessment of the Tasmanian Scalefish Fishery is produced by the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS) using data downloaded from the Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment (DPIPWE) Fisheries Integrated Licensing and Management System (FILMS) database. The information presented here includes all logbook returns for 2017/18 season that were entered prior to November 2018. The authors do not warrant that the information in this document is free from errors or omissions. The authors do not accept any form of liability, be it contractual, tortious, or otherwise, for the contents of this document or for any consequences arising from its use or any reliance placed upon it. The information, opinions and advice contained in this document may not relate, or be relevant, to a reader’s particular circumstance. Opinions expressed by the authors are the individual opinions expressed by those persons and are not necessarily those of the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS) or the University of Tasmania (UTas). IMAS Fisheries and Aquaculture Private Bag 49 Hobart TAS 7001 Australia Email: [email protected] Ph: 03 6226 8255, +61 3 6226 8255 (international) © Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania 2019 Copyright protects this publication. Except for purposes permitted by the Copyright Act, reproduction by whatever means is prohibited without the prior written permission of the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies. Tasmanian Scalefish Fishery Assessment 2017/18 Contents Executive Summary ............................................................................... iv 1. Introduction.......................................................................................... 1 The Tasmanian Scalefish Fishery ........................................................................... 1 Management objectives and strategies .................................................................. 1 Major objectives ............................................................................................................... 1 Primary strategies ............................................................................................................ 1 This report ................................................................................................................. 2 Data sources ............................................................................................................. 2 Tasmanian General Fishing Returns .............................................................................. 2 Commonwealth catch returns ......................................................................................... 2 Data analysis .................................................................................................................... 2 Recreational fishery ......................................................................................................... 5 Assessment categories ............................................................................................ 5 Species’ importance ........................................................................................................ 5 Reporting levels definitions ............................................................................................ 5 Stock status definitions ................................................................................................... 7 Performance indicators and reference points definitions ............................................. 8 Uncertainties and implications for management ................................................... 9 Ecological Risk Assessment ................................................................................. 10 2. General fishing trends ....................................................................... 11 Commercial fishing licences .................................................................................. 11 Commercial catch trends ....................................................................................... 13 General production ........................................................................................................ 13 Estuarine productions ................................................................................................... 17 Recreational fishery ................................................................................................ 20 Catch and effort .............................................................................................................. 20 Recreational gillnet fishery............................................................................................ 22 3. Commercial fishing gear ................................................................... 23 General effort trends............................................................................................... 23 Automatic squid-jig................................................................................................. 24 Beach seine ............................................................................................................. 25 Drop-line .................................................................................................................. 26 Dip-net ...................................................................................................................... 27 Danish seine ............................................................................................................ 28 Fish trap ................................................................................................................... 29 IMAS Report - Page i Tasmanian Scalefish Fishery Assessment 2017/18 Gillnet ....................................................................................................................... 30 Hand collection ....................................................................................................... 31 Hand-line .................................................................................................................. 32 Small mesh net ........................................................................................................ 33 Purse seine .............................................................................................................. 34 Squid jig ................................................................................................................... 35 Spear ........................................................................................................................ 36 Trolling ..................................................................................................................... 37 4. Eastern Australian Salmon ............................................................... 38 5. Australian Sardine ............................................................................. 44 6. Barracouta ......................................................................................... 52 7. Bastard Trumpeter ............................................................................ 58 8. Blue Warehou .................................................................................... 65 9. Tiger Flathead .................................................................................... 72 10. Southern Sand Flathead.................................................................. 79 11. Flounder ........................................................................................... 91 12. Gould’s Squid .................................................................................. 97 13. Jack Mackerel ................................................................................ 103 14. Jackass Morwong .......................................................................... 109 15. Leatherjacket ................................................................................. 115 16. Longsnout Boarfish ....................................................................... 120 17. Yelloweye Mullet ............................................................................ 125 18. Snook ............................................................................................. 131 19. Eastern School Whiting ................................................................ 136 20. Southern Calamari ......................................................................... 142 21. Southern Garfish ........................................................................... 150 22. Striped Trumpeter.......................................................................... 160 23. Wrasse ............................................................................................ 174 References ........................................................................................... 182 Appendix 1 - Common and scientific names of species from catch returns .................................................................................................. 191 Appendix 2 - Data restrictions and quality control ........................... 192 Appendix 3 - Annual Tasmanian scalefish production ..................... 194 IMAS Report - Page ii Tasmanian Scalefish Fishery Assessment 2017/18 Appendix 4 - Annual catch, effort and number of vessels by fishing methods ..............................................................................................