Life Sciences Commons^™

Developing Novel Remote Camera Approaches To Assess And Monitor The Population Status Of Australian Sea Lions, Mathew Hourston, Daniela Waltrick, Stuart Blight, Ainslie Denham, Alex Hesp, Steve Taylor

Fisheries research reports

This project trialled the use of remote cameras to monitor the relative abundance of Australian sea lions (ASLs, Neophoca cinerea) at three Western Australian (WA) breeding colonies. The research was undertaken by the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) to assess whether the analysis of camera footage could be used to estimate ASL relative abundance, providing an alternative to the traditional “boots on the ground” approach (hereon in “BoG”) of visiting colonies to count animals. This report outlines the strengths and limitations of this novel approach rather than providing an update on the population status of ASLs. …

Ecological Risk Assessment For The Western Rock Lobster Resource; Background Information, Jason How, Emma-Jade Tuffley, Rebecca Oliver, Scott Evans, Mathew Hourston, Simon De Lestang

Fisheries research reports

In April 2022, the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD, Department) convened an ecological risk assessment (ERA) of the fisheries that access the Western Rock Lobster Resource (Resource). ERAs are conducted by the Department as part of its Ecosystem Based Fisheries Management (EBFM) framework.

This report provides an overview of the Western Australian (WA) fisheries that access the Resource to support the ERA risk scoring process. The ERA considered the potential ecological impacts of the harvest of the Resource by all sectors, including the commercial fisheries; West Coast Rock Lobster Managed Fishery (WCRLMF) and South Coast Crustacean Managed …

Boat-Based Recreational Fishing In Western Australia, Karina L. Ryan, Eva Km Lai Dpird, Claire B. Smallwood

Fisheries research reports

The integrated surveys of boat-based recreational fishing include three components: (i) off-site Phone Surveys (encompassing an initial Screening Survey, a longitudinal Phone-Diary Survey, and Post-Enumeration Surveys); (ii) on-site Boat Ramp Surveys; and (iii) Remote Camera Surveys. The main data collection period from September 2020 to August 2021 (inclusive) provides comparisons with previous surveys in 2017/18 (September 2017 to August 2018), 2015/16 (September 2015 to August 2016), 2013/14 (May 2013 to April 2014) and 2011/12 (March 2011 to February 2012). A total of 3,044 fishers completed the Phone-Diary Survey with 206,230 individual fish (including invertebrates) caught (kept or released) by fishers …

Recreational Fishing For Western Rock Lobster: Estimates Of Participation, Effort And Catch In 2021/22, Claire B. Smallwood, Karina L. Ryan, Alissa C. Tate, Lucy J. Rudd

Fisheries research reports

The Western Rock Lobster (WRL) (Panulirus cygnus) is the most commonly caught Rock Lobster (RL) species in Western Australia. Catches from the commercial and recreational sectors are required to determine and monitor Total Allowable Commercial Catch (TACC), Total Allowable Recreational Catch (TARC) and proportion of Allowable Harvest Level (AHL) achieved. The TARC is set at 5% of the AHL and evaluated in the harvest strategy based on a 5-year average. Since 2018/19, data for the recreational sector have been collected using phone- recall surveys to provide estimates of participation, fishing effort and retained catch (by numbers) from recreational fishers who …

Shore-Based Recreational Fishing In The Perth Metropolitan Area: 2022, Alissa Tate, Lucy Rudd, Claire B. Smallwood

Fisheries research reports

Recreational fishing is a popular activity in Western Australia (WA), occurring throughout the state from boats, and from a variety of natural and man-made structures along the shore. Ongoing monitoring of the shore-based recreational fishery is essential to assist with resource allocation, management evaluation and stock assessments for nearshore species. Especially for species such as Australian Herring and Southern Garfish which had management changes including a reduction in bag limit from 30 to 12 in 2015 and closure of Perth Metropolitan waters in 2017, respectively. An on-site roving creel survey to collect effort and catch data from shore fishers has …

Ecological Risk Assessment For The Marine Aquarium Fish Resource, Kimberley Smith, Amelia Bissell, Carly Bruce

Fisheries research reports

In November 2021, the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development convened an Ecological Risk Assessment (ERA) of the Western Australian fisheries that access the Marine Aquarium Fish Resource. ERAs are conducted by the Department as part of its Ecosystem-Based Fisheries Management framework. Outputs of this ERA will inform future versions of the Harvest Strategy for the Resource. Additionally, this ERA is a requirement of the Wildlife Trade Operation approval for the Marine Aquarium Fish Managed Fishery (MAFMF).

Ecological impacts of the MAFMF, which is the only commercial fishery that targets the Resource, and other extractive sectors that access the …

South-West Estuarine And Nearshore Finfish Resource Part 1: Sea Mullet And Yellowfin Whiting, Rodney Duffy Dr., David Harris, Emily Fisher, Kim Smith, Danielle Johnston, Ainslie Denham, Alex Hesp, Blaine Hodgson, Amber Quinn, Marcus Newman

Fisheries research reports

This report focuses on one of the primary target species for which biomass-based stock assessments are periodically undertaken - sea mullet (Mugil cephalus). The report also includes a recent stock assessment for yellowfin whiting (Sillago schomburgkii) due to concerns regarding substantial increases in catch relative to historic levels.

Status of stock(s)

Sea mullet

The current stock level is considered to be acceptable, and the current level of fishing mortality is unlikely to deplete the stock to a level at which recruitment could be impaired. On the basis of the evidence provided, the sea mullet stock in …

Houtman Abrolhos Islands Fish Habitat Protection Area: A Summary Of Marine Resource Use And Ecological Attributes, Scott N. Evans, Nick Konzewitsch, Lynda M. Bellchambers

Fisheries research reports

The Houtman Abrolhos Islands (Abrolhos) is an archipelago of up to 210 small islands and associated reefs located approximately 65-90 km offshore from Geraldton, Western Australia (WA). The islands and waters of the Abrolhos are of significance for both land-based and marine based values. The marine state territorial waters of the Abrolhos are managed by the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) as the Houtman Abrolhos Islands Fish Habitat Protection Area (Abrolhos FHPA). This report aims to provide a summary of the DPIRD data on aquatic resource use (e.g., aquaculture, commercial, recreational and charter fishing) and ecological attributes …

Western Australian Sea Cucumber Resource Assessment Report, A.M. Hart, D.M. Murphy, F.F. Fabris

Fisheries research reports

No abstract provided.