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Fisheries Report No 16 - Notes On The Wildlife Of A Proposed Nature Reserve Around Lake Grace And Lake Chinokup, Western Australia, N. L. Mckenzie, W. K. Youngson

Fisheries Research Reports

During 1972 and 1973 plants and vertebrate animals were collected and recorded from a proposed 22 000 ha nature reserve centred on a chain of salt lakes in south-western Western Australia (33° 10' S - 33° 35' 8 and 118° 19' B - 118° 29' E).

The dominant plant species were collected, the structural formations desert bed and a vegetation map produced. Seven species of native terrestrial mammal and three species of bat were recorded.

Three of the terrestrial species are endemic to southwestern Western Australia, and two of these - Pseudomys occidentalis and Sminthopsis granulipes - are regarded as …

Fisheries Report No 17 - Some Aspects Of Tuna And Its Potential In The Oceanic Waters Off Western Australia, J. P. Robins

Fisheries Research Reports

In this report an endeavour has been made to describe very briefly the growth of the tuna fishery in Australia, world production, utilisation, price and future demand, tuna species descriptions, species occurrence around the Australian coast and the results of two aerial surveys for tuna off. the west and north-west coasts of Western Australia.

Fisheries Report No 14 - Wilson Inlet - A Seasonally Closed Western Australian South Coast Estuary, R C.J. Lenanton

Fisheries Research Reports

Considerable conflict has existed for many years between professional fishing, recreational usage and development in the west and south coast estuaries of Western Australia. One of the areas where intense conflict exists is Wilson Inlet.

The Government's task of advising the various interests concerned in these conflicts has been difficult, due to the lack of knowledge of estuarine fauna and environment in relation to usage and development.

The objective of this report is to present a preliminary description of the Wilson Inlet environment, to record the history of netting closures in the Inlet, and to discuss the history of the …

Fisheries Report No 15 - The Western Rock Lobster Fishery 1972 - 1973, G. R. Morgan, E H. Barker

Fisheries Research Reports

The fishery for the western rock lobster* is one of the most important single fisheries in Australia and an important export earner for the State. The fishery is governed by a complex set of regulations which have been reviewed by Bowen (1971) and which are designed to limit the total effort to acceptable levels and to enforce a legal minimum size. It is thus important to constantly monitor the state of the fishery both to ensure that the effort is remaining within the accepted limits and that the regulations are adequately performing their function of maintaining reasonably stable catches. Inherent …

Fisheries Report No 13 - Results Of A Biological Survey Of The Shire Of Kent, Western Australia, N. L. Mckenzie

Fisheries Research Reports

The Department of Fisheries and Fauna is responsible for the conservation of the native fauna in Western Australia. The main approach to this problem has been the creation of reserves for "The Conservation of Flora and Fauna". These reserves, known as "Wildlife Sanctuaries", are controlled by the Western Australian Wild Life Authority - a Statutory Authority serviced by the Department.

The object of the acquisition programme is to develop a reserve system which will include, as far as possible, a full and permanent cross-section of the State's native floral and faunal assemblages and, at the same time, provide for the …

Fisheries Report No 12 - Results Of A Biological Survey Of A Proposed Wildlife Sanctuary At Dragon Rocks Near Hyden, Western Australia, N. L. Mckenzie, A. A. Burbidge, N. G. Marchant

Fisheries Research Reports

In 1972, three visits were made to an area of vacant crown lam 30 kilometres south-south~east of Hyden, Western Australia.

A preliminary survey was made in April 1972 and following this recommendations were made on the equipment and staff required for a detailed survey of the vegetation and animals.

From the 30th July to the 4th August 1972, a team from the Fauna Research Branch of the Department of Fisheries and Fauna began a detailed fauna survey.

Between the 20th August and the 25th August 1972, the fauna survey was continued am a botanist from the Western Australian Herbarium undertook …

Fisheries Report No 11 - The Fauna, Flora And Planned Usage Of The Dampier Archipelago, A. A. Burbidge, R. I. T. Prince

Fisheries Research Reports

The Dampier Archipelago is a group of islands off the north west coast of Australia (20 20! - 20 45'S, 116 Cast . 117°E), first discovered by William Dampier in 1699 and subsequently named after him by the Baudin expedition of 1801. This name has since been applied by some authors to include all islands from Roebourne to North West Cape, including both Barrow Island and the Monte Bello Islands, but it is more correctly applied to those islands within a 30 mile radius of the town of Dampier.

Ir. recent times, three parties have visited the Archipelago and examined …

Fisheries Report No. 10 - An Investigation Into The Status Of Introduced Trout (Salmo Spp.) In Western Australia, Dr N. M. Morrissy

Fisheries Research Reports

Both brown (Salmo trutta L.) and rainbow (S. gairdnerii trout Richardson) have been introduced into inland waters of the south-west of Western Australia to provide an amateur sport fishery on a gamefish. The large indigenous marron (Cherax tenuimanus Smith) is present in most of these waters. The only large native fish present is the cobbler (Tand- anus bostocki Whitley) which, while highly edible like the marron, has no game-fish qualities.

Hatchery production of trout for stocking waters has been centred at Pemberton in the lower south-west since 1931 when Mr. Cyril Glew, acting in a private capacity, succeeded in hatching …

Fisheries Report No Viii (8) - Report On A Visit Of Inspection To Barrow Island November 1969, A. A. Burbidge, A. R. Main

Fisheries Research Reports

The aim of the inspection was to examine the effects on the fauna and flora of the oil exploration initiated in mid-1963 by West Australian Petroleum Pty. Ltd. (WAPET) and the construction and development programme which followed in 1966 and which is now nearing completion.

Fisheries Report No 9 - The Fauna And Flora Of Monte Bello Islands, A. A. Burbidge Dr

Fisheries Research Reports

Two visits were made to the Monte Bello Islands in 1970 and 1971.

The aim of the visits was to examine the islands for the presence of native mammals and other fauna, and to explore the possibility of re-establishing fauna now extinct,

The first survey was carried out in conjunction with a more detailed examination of the Dampier Archipelago. The fisheries patrols vessel "Dampier" was used to reach the islands and as a base. Personnel were R. Johnstone (W.A. Museum), E.J. Little and J.D. Harman (crew of the "Dampier"), R.F. Dear and A.A, Burbidge, all from the Department of Fisheries …

Fisheries Report No Vii (7) - Results Of A Biological Survey Of The Millstream Area, A. A. Burbidge Dr

Fisheries Research Reports

Millstream has long been recognised as an unique and outstanding area, both scenically and from a biological aspect. The area of prime interest consists of a series of deep pools in the bed of the Fortescue River (about 15 miles long including Gregory Gorge) and the springs and streams which feed them. Most of the springs are in the sides of the river bed but one of the largest is about 1% miles to the south. This feeds a swift flowing stream running north into the river bed.

The first Europeans to see the area were the exploring party led …

Fisheries Report No V (5) - Report On Marron In Farm Dams (Cherax Tenuimanus), N M. Morrissy

Fisheries Research Reports

A programme of selling marron (Cherax tenuimanus) to country dwellers for stocking farm dams, has been carried out by the Pemberton Trout Board for the past few years with considerable financial gain. In this case permission to sell the marron was granted by the Department of Fisheries and Fauna so as to encourage the provision of stocks of this large, freshwater crustacean for farmers in the dryer inland areas of the Southwest which are remote from sources of fresh fish and from natural stocks of marron.

The marron, however, have been sold indiscriminately, upon request, without any advice as to …

Fisheries Report No Iv (6) - Report On The Current Status Of Crocodiles In Western Australia, H. Robert Bustard Dr

Fisheries Research Reports

The aim of the survey was fivefold,

(1) to determine the present abundance and composition of saltwater crocodile populations in Western Australia,

(2) to comment on the status of the freshwater crocodile in Western Australia following 7 years of total protection,

(3) to locate study area(s) for detailed work on crocodile biology,

(4) to investigate the feelings of people on the spot (especially shooters or ex-shooters) towards crocodile conservation, and

(5) to investigate law enforcement problems relating to crocodiles

Fishery Report Iv (4) - Report On The Barramundi Fishery In Western Australia, N M. Morrissy

Fisheries Research Reports

Barramundi are widely distributed in rivers and estuaries in the semi-tropical and tropical regions of the Indo- Pacific from South China to the Persian Gulf and along the coast of northern Australia. The limiting factors to the distribution appear to be temperature and salinity.

Fisheries Report No 3 - Western Australian Freshwater Fisheries, Donald D. Francois

Fisheries Research Reports

Most of the Australian States have a comprehensive system of inland waterways, Western Australia, however, is in a less fortunate position. True, the maps of the State show many rivers, but in much of the southern, more populous part, with no summer rain and no winter snow, the majority are virtually a chain of waterholes during the long summer months. At the same time, in a relatively small section in the south-west corner, there is a series of permanent streams flowing through what was originally dense forest. But apart from the three indigenous freshwater crustaceans, the marron (Cherax tenuimanus), the …

Fisheries Report No I (1) - The Shark Bay Fishery On Snapper Chrysophrys Unicolor (Quoy And Gaimard), B. K. Bowen

Fisheries Research Reports

As regards both catch and value, the Shark Bay snapper fishery is the second most important scale fishery in Western Australia. Until 195%, the fishing was done solely by means of hard-lines operated from beats drifting over the snapper patches. In 1959 traps were first used with great success and in 196) this method of fishing was again the principal technique.

Prior to the 1960 season there were several suggestions that the use of traps would have a deleterious effect on the fishery. On October 19, 1959, the Western Australian League of the Professional Fishermen's Association wrote to the Fisheries …

Fisheries Report Ii (2) - Preliminary Report On The Effectiveness Of Escape-Gaps In Crayfish-Pots, B. K. Bowen

Fisheries Research Reports

The Western Australian commercial crayfish, Panulinrus cy,nus George, (1962)", is caught in depths ranging from a few feet to approximately 45 fathoms. In the shallow waters large numbers of crayfish measuring, less than the legal minimum length are brought to the surface in the standard commercial crayfish pots. The law requires that these undersize crayfish be returned to the sea, but there is always the temptation to retain them for illegal sale. In addition, the undersize crayfish which are returned to the sea are often damaged by handling. The probability is that their mortality rate is higher than those which …