Fishery Report No 55 - The Western Rock Lobster Fishery 1961 - 1971

Authors

G. R. Morgan, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Western Australia
E H. Barker, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Western Australia

Publication Date

1982

Series Number

Fishery Report 55

Publisher

Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Western Australia

City

Perth

ISBN

O 7244 9084 1

ISSN

0726-0733

Abstract

The fishery for the western rock lobster, Panulinus cygnus is one of the most important single fisheries in Australia and one of the major rock lobster fisheries of the world with catches in recent years averaging some 8000 tonnes annually. The history of the commercial fishery extends back to 1944/45 factory when a canning was opened at the Abrolhos Islands (Figure 1) with a view to supplying the Australian armed forces. After the World war, an export market for fresh frozen rock lobster tails was quickly established in the U.S.A. and the industry, sharing in the advantages of postwar reconstruction, expanded rapidly until by 1955, the industry employed over 600 fishermen who caught in excess of 5000 tonnes of rock lobsters annually.

The development phase of the industry, characterized by expanding markets, increasing fishing effort and increasing catch, lasted about 1961 by which time it was apparent that even though the numbers of vessels fishing for rock lobsters was continuing to increase, the catch had stabilized at about 8000 tonnes with the that the catch per boat was declining. The fishing fleet was evidently working on all of the known rock lobster grounds and was soon realized that continued expansion of the fishery was unlikely. More importantly, the threat of declining catches as a result of over exploitation became a real possibility and steps were taken to rationalize exploitation by introducing a more comprehensive system of management regulations in 1963.

The development phase of the industry had finished and the fishery entered a new era of stabilization.

The history of the development phase of the fishery from 1944 to 1961 has previously been dealt with in admirable detail by Sheard (1962). This contribution continues the commercial history of the Western Australian rock lobster fishery into the stabilization phase from 1961 to 1971 while data from more recent years have been and will in future be included in annual reviews of the season (e.g. Morgan and Barker 1977).

Number of Pages

42

Keywords

Western Rock Lobster (Panulinus cygnus), Western Australia, Survey

Disciplines

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

Recommended Citation

Morgan, G R, and Barker, E H. (1982), Fishery Report No 55 - The Western Rock Lobster Fishery 1961 - 1971. Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Western Australia, Perth. Report Fishery Report 55.
https://library.dpird.wa.gov.au/fr_rr/336