Stock Assessment for the Shark Bay Scallop Fishery

Authors

Mervi Kangas
Errol Brown
Marie Shanks
Arani Chandrapavan
Adrian Thomson

Publication Date

12-2011

Publisher

Government of Western Australia Department of Fisheries

ISBN

978-1-921845-32-1

ISSN

1035 - 4549

Abstract

The Shark Bay scallop fishery is based on a single species Amusium balloti and is the most valuable scallop fishery (AUD 10-57 million) in Western Australia. This species is short-lived, has fast growth and highly variable recruitment which is primarily environmentally driven. The scallop fishery consists of two classes of licences, A and B. There are fourteen Licensed Fishing Boats with A Class licences that target scallops and account for approximately 70% of the catch. There are twenty-seven Class B licences, which primarily fish for prawns (in the Shark Bay Prawn Managed Fishery) with scallops a secondary target species. Restructuring and gear amalgamation within the Class B fleet has currently reduced the number of boats actively fishing to 18

Number of Pages

76

Keywords

Amusium balloti ; Pectinidae; Scallop fisheries; Stock assessment; Fishery management; Fishery biology; Fishery data; Fishery statistics; Shark Bay - Western Australia

Recommended Citation

Kangas, M., Sporer, E., Brown, S., Shanks, M., Chandrapavan, A and Thomson, A. 2011 Stock Assessment for the Shark Bay Scallop Fishery. Fisheries Research Report No. 226. Department of Fisheries, Western Australia. 76pp.