Status of demersal finfish stocks on the west coast of Australia

Authors

David V. Fairclough
Brett W. Molony
Brett M. Crisafulli
Ian S. Keay
Sybrand Alexander Hesp
Ross J. Marriott

Publication Date

5-2014

Series Number

Fisheries Research Report No. 253

Publisher

Government of Western Australia Department of Fisheries

ISBN

978-1-921845-75-8

ISSN

1035 - 4549

Abstract

Assessments of the key indicator species for the West Coast Demersal Scalefish Resource (WCDSR; West Australian dhufish Glaucosoma hebraicum, Snapper Pagrus auratus and Baldchin groper Choerodon rubescens) in 2007 and 2009 demonstrated that the stocks were experiencing overfishing. Thus, between late 2007 and early 2010, substantial changes were made to the management of the commercial and recreational fisheries that exploit the WCDSR. These were designed to reduce catches of the entire suite of demersal scalefish species (and of each indicator species) by both the commercial and recreational sectors in the West Coast Bioregion (WCB) by at least 50 % of the 2005/06 levels (the catch benchmark), to allow stocks to recover.

Number of Pages

96

Keywords

West Coast Bioregion - Fisheries - Western Australia ; Demersal fish ; Demersal fisheries. ; Stock assessment. ; Fishery biology. ; Fishery management. ; Catch and effort; Catch statistics; Glaucosoma hebraicum; Pagrus auratus; Choerodon rubescens; West Coast marine bioregion - Western Australia; Western Australia

Disciplines

Aquaculture and Fisheries

Recommended Citation

Fairclough, D.V., Molony, B.W., Crisafulli, B.M., Keay, I.S., Hesp, S.A. and Marriott, R.J. 2014. Status of demersal finfish stocks on the west coast of Australia. Fisheries Research Report No. 253. Department of Fisheries, Western Australia. 96pp.