Gascoyne Offshore Scalefish Sustainability

The Shark Bay commercial Snapper Managed Fishery operates on the oceanic stock of pink snapper (Pagrus auratus), which is distinct from the inner Shark Bay stocks. Licence-holders in the managed fishery and other commercial fishers in the region also catch a variety of other species, including goldband snapper (Pristipomoides multidens), red emperor (Lutjanus sebae) and several emperor species (Lethrinus spp.). Current management issues include rebuilding the stock of pink snapper to 40 per cent of the unfished breeding biomass and the very rapid growth of the deepwater fishery, particularly for goldband snapper.

Proposed changes to the management of commercial wetline fishing in the Gascoyne region will need accurate estimates of both catch and effort annually. Pink snapper will still need a high level of research input until the stock has recovered.

This project will:

* Provide scientific advice for management of demersal marine scalefish fisheries in the Gascoyne Bioregion, including the Shark Bay Snapper Managed Fishery. Methods include monitoring commercial catch and fishing effort information and sampling ages (using otoliths) and lengths of snapper in the commercial catch.
* Continue to monitor bycatch and endangered species as part of ESD reporting and broaden the scope to cover other key species which are relevant to the wetline and Integrated Fisheries Management process

Time : ongoing