Publication Date

1981

Series Number

Fisheries Report 46

Publisher

Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Western Australia

City

Perth

Abstract

A study of the amateur fishery for the western rock Lobster, Paulinus cygnus George, was commenced by the W.A. Marine Research Laboratories in August, 1976, and was concluded in December, 1978. The main aims of this study were to collect and analyse data to give some estimate of the distribution and magnitude of this amateur fishery.

Prior to this survey, the only catch and fishing effort data available was that obtained from the commercial fishery. Data from the amateur fishery were required in order to make a full assessment of the Level of exploitation of the stocks. In addition, 144 was believed that in recent years, increasingly more effort was being put into the fishery by amateurs, as a result of population increases, increases in leisure time, increases in the number of privately owned boats and the rapid increases in the numbers of Amateur Fisherman's Licenses issued.

A preliminary assessment of the fishery was obtained by analysing questionnaires issued with Amateur Fisherman's Licenses (AFL4)] for the 1976-77 season. The results that the main suggested areas fished by amateurs were around the towns of Perth and Geraldton. There were two main methods used for catching rock Lobsters - by using Lobster pots and by diving; pot fishermen outnumbered divers by 4.5 to 7.

The total estimated catch for the 1975-76 season, assuming that add AFL holders who owned pots used them, was 250 000 kg of Rock Lobster.

Following this, a creel census was undertaken, with fishermen being interviewed along the coast from Augusta to Kalbarri during the 1976-77 and 1977-78 Rock Lobster fishing seasons. Very few fishermen diving for rock Lobsters were encountered during the census, so little was learned about their activities. The creel census yielded valuable information on the catch rates of amateur fishermen using Lobster pots; for the 1976-77 season, the estimated catch rate was 0.50 kL per pot lift and for the 1977-78 season, 0.52 kg per pot lift.

Information on the fishing effort of amateur Rock lobster fishermen was obtained from data collected on the AFL application form which was introduced for the first time for the 1977-78 year. 26 644 AFL's were issued in 1977-78. 8739 License holders owned pots, 77158 of whom actually used them during the 1977-78 season. The 7158 License holders who used pots owned a total of 13 457 pots i.e. an average of 7.88 pots each and they worked them for an average of 719.5 days during the season. Thia generated 262 500 pot Lifts for the 1977-78 season. There were also 1587 people who dived for rock Lobsters and 177 who took them by other methods. This produced a total effort by amateur fishermen of 262 500 pot Lifts, 24 500 occasions on which amateur fishermen dived for rock Lobsters, and 1800 occasions on which amateur fishermen caught rock Lobsters using other means. Based on these figures, it was estimated that the total catch by amateur Rock Lobster fishermen for the 1977-78 season was 173 800 kg, which represents 1.6% of the total catch professional for the season.

Application forms for AFLs have been discontinued for the time being. However it would be possible to effectively monitor the fishing effort of amateurs in the rock Lobster fishery in future years by reintroducing application foams for AFLs and applying the methodology given in this paper.

Number of Pages

108

Keywords

Rock lobster (Panuliaus cygnus George), Amateur fishing, Western Australia

Disciplines

Aquaculture and Fisheries | Marine Biology | Natural Resource Economics | Natural Resources and Conservation | Natural Resources Management and Policy | Sustainability

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