Fisheries Research Report No. 268, 2015 State-wide survey of boat-based recreational fishing in Western Australia 2013/14 K.L. Ryan, N.G. Hall, E.K. Lai, C.B. Smallwood, S.M. Taylor, B.S. Wise Fisheries Research Division Western Australian Fisheries and Marine Research Laboratories PO Box 20 NORTH BEACH, Western Australia 6920 8562/15 Correct citation: Ryan, K.L., Hall, N.G., Lai, E.K., Smallwood, C.B., Taylor, S.M., Wise, B.S. 2015. State-wide survey of boat-based recreational fishing in Western Australia 2013/14. Fisheries Research Report No. 268, Department of Fisheries, Western Australia. 208pp. Enquiries: WA Fisheries and Marine Research Laboratories, PO Box 20, North Beach, WA 6920 Tel: +61 8 9203 0111 Email: [email protected] Website: www.fish.wa.gov.au ABN: 55 689 794 771 A complete list of Fisheries Research Reports is available online at www.fish.wa.gov.au Department of Fisheries 3rd floor, The Atrium 168 – 170 St Georges Terrace PERTH WA 6000 Telephone: (08) 9482 7333 Facsimile: (08) 9482 7389 Website: www.fish.wa.gov.au ABN: 55 689 794 771 Cover image: Entrance Point Boat Ramp, Broome by Claire Smallwood, 2010. © Department of Fisheries, Western Australia. November 2015. ISSN: 1035-4549 (Print) ISBN: 978-1-921845-99-4 (Print) ISSN: 2202-5758 (Online) ISBN: 978-1-877098-00-0 (Online) ii Fisheries Research Report [Western Australia] No. 268, 2015 Table of Contents Executive Summary ................................................................................................. 1 1 Introduction ..................................................................................................... 5 1.1 Importance of recreational fishing in Western Australia ............................................... 5 1.2 Need for recreational fishing information ........................................................................ 5 1.3 Recreational fishing surveys in Australia ......................................................................... 6 1.4 Recreational fishing surveys in Western Australia.......................................................... 7 1.5 State-wide survey of boat-based recreational fishing (2013/14) ..................................... 8 1.6 Survey Objectives................................................................................................................ 8 1.7 Report structure .................................................................................................................. 9 2 Survey Design and Analysis ......................................................................... 11 2.1 Survey Scope...................................................................................................................... 11 2.1.1 Who was included in the survey? ................................................................................. 11 2.1.2 What fishing activities were covered? ......................................................................... 11 2.1.3 What species were covered? ........................................................................................ 12 2.1.4 Survey Area .................................................................................................................. 12 2.1.5 Survey Duration ........................................................................................................... 12 2.1.6 Survey Data Elements .................................................................................................. 15 2.2 Survey Components .......................................................................................................... 15 2.2.1 Phone Surveys .............................................................................................................. 15 2.2.2 Boat Ramp Surveys ...................................................................................................... 22 2.2.3 Remote Camera Survey ................................................................................................ 23 2.3 Phone-Diary Survey Expansion, Weighting and Analysis ............................................ 23 2.4 Uncertainty ........................................................................................................................ 27 3 Participation ................................................................................................... 28 3.1 Regional Development Commission Boundary .............................................................. 28 3.2 Gender and Age................................................................................................................. 28 3.3 Bioregions Fished .............................................................................................................. 32 3.4 Avidity ................................................................................................................................ 33 Fisheries Research Report [Western Australia] No. 268, 2015 iii 4 Fishing Effort ................................................................................................. 36 4.1 State-wide effort ................................................................................................................ 37 4.2 North Coast........................................................................................................................ 38 4.3 Gascoyne Coast ................................................................................................................. 39 4.4 West Coast ......................................................................................................................... 40 4.5 South Coast ........................................................................................................................ 41 5 State-wide Estimates of Recreational Catch ............................................... 42 5.1 Annual catch (total, kept and released numbers) .......................................................... 42 5.2 Release Rates ..................................................................................................................... 43 5.3 Reasons for Release........................................................................................................... 43 6 Estimates of Catch for Key Species ............................................................. 67 6.1 Inland ................................................................................................................................. 69 6.1.1 Silver Cobbler (Neoarius midgleyi) ............................................................................. 69 6.2 Estuarine ............................................................................................................................ 70 6.2.1 Barramundi (Lates calcarifer) ...................................................................................... 70 6.2.2 Black Bream (Acanthopagrus butcheri) ...................................................................... 71 6.2.3 Estuary Cobbler (Cnidoglanis macrocephalus) ........................................................... 72 6.2.4 Yellowtail Flathead (Platycephalus westraliae) .......................................................... 73 6.2.5 Southern Bluespotted Flathead (Platycephalus speculator) ........................................ 74 6.3 Nearshore ........................................................................................................................... 75 6.3.1 Australian Herring (Arripis georgianus) ...................................................................... 75 6.3.2 Western Australian Salmon (Arripis truttaceus) .......................................................... 76 6.3.3 Garfish (Hyporhamphus melanochir and Hemiramphus robustus) ............................. 77 6.3.4 Sea Mullet (Mugil cephalus) ........................................................................................ 78 6.3.5 Tailor (Pomatomus saltatrix) ....................................................................................... 79 6.3.6 Blue Threadfin (Eleutheronema tetradactylum) .......................................................... 80 6.3.7 King Threadfin (Polydactylus macrochir) ................................................................... 81 6.3.8 King George Whiting (Sillaginodes punctata)............................................................. 82 6.3.9 School Whiting (Sillago bassensis, vittata and schomburgkii) .................................... 83 6.3.10 Western Trumpeter Whiting (Sillago burrus)........................................................... 84 6.3.11 Mangrove Jack (Lutjanus argentimaculatus) ........................................................... 85 6.3.12 Silver Trevally (Pseudocaranx dentex and P. wrighti) ............................................. 86 6.3.13 Western Butterfish (Pentapodus vitta)...................................................................... 87 6.3.14 Western Yellowfin Bream (Acanthopagrus morrisoni) ........................................... 88 iv Fisheries Research Report [Western Australia] No. 268, 2015 6.3.15 Western King Wrasse (Coris auricularis) ................................................................ 89 6.3.16 Brownspotted Wrasse (Notolabrus parilus) ............................................................. 90 6.4 Inshore Demersal .............................................................................................................. 91 6.4.1 Baldchin Groper (Choerodon rubescens) ...................................................................