Handline surveys of deep water fish on the outer Great Barrier Reef

Three surveys were conducted off the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) in 1992. The first and third surveys (16-21 April and 26-31 December) were in the vicinity of Myrmidon Reef in the central section of the GBR. The second survey (19-29 June) was conducted at No.9 and No.10 Ribbon Reefs in the northern section of the GBR.Hawaiian-style deep-water handlines were used to survey fish at depths ranging from 40 to 340 m. Fishing operations were conducted during the day over the outer slope of the continental shelf. The vessel drifted over bottom features such as ledges, pinnacles, and drop-offs, which were located using a depth sounder. The rate of drift was controlled by using the engines to keep the bow of the vessel at a quartering angle into the dominant wind, sea, or current. At capture, fish were photographed next to a 30-cm rule, measured for standard length (SL) in cm and weighed. Otoliths were removed for age and growth studies and tissues were removed for genetic studies. One specimen of each species was frozen and deposited in the Western Australian Museum (WAM) for identification and cataloguing. Catch per unit effort was also calculated (number of fish/handline hour and kg/handline hour). Surveys were undertaken to assess the potential for establishing a deep reef slope fishery off the Great Barrier Reef. Eighteen new fish records for the Great Barrier Reef, including seven new records for Australia, were reported from the line fishing surveys. The following 18 species represent new records for the Great Barrier Reef region, with the seven for Australia noted with an asterisk (*).Serranidae:Epinephelus magniscuttis Postel et al. *Epinephelus morrhua (Valenciennes) Epinephelus octofasciatus Griffin Epinephelus radiatus (Day) Saloptia powelli Smith *Branchiostegidae: Branchiostegus wardi Whitley Lutjanidae:Etelis carbunculus CuvierEtelis coruscans ValenciennesEtelis radiosus AndersonParacaesio kusakarii Abe Paracaesio stonei Raj and Seeto *Pristipomoides argyrogrammicus (Valenciennes) *Pristipomoides auricilla (Jordon et al.) *Pristipomoides filamentosus (Valenciennes)Pristipomoides flavipinnis Shinohara *Pristipomoides multidens (Day)Pristipomoides zonatus (Valenciennes) *Lethrinidae:Wattsia mossambica (Smith)Additional species captured during the surveys:Aphareus rutilansAprion virescensCarangoides chrysophrysEpinephelus cyanopodusEpinephelus maculatusEpinephelus tukulaGymnocranius euanusGymnocranius granoculusLethrinus miniatusLutjanus boharPlectropomus leopardusSeriola dumerili

1992年，研究团队在大堡礁（Great Barrier Reef, GBR）海域开展了三次调查作业。第一次与第三次调查分别于4月16日至21日、12月26日至31日开展，作业区域位于大堡礁中部的默米东礁（Myrmidon Reef）周边海域；第二次调查于6月19日至29日开展，作业区域位于大堡礁北部的第9号丝带礁与第10号丝带礁海域。
本次调查采用夏威夷式深水手钓（Hawaiian-style deep-water handlines）开展鱼类调查，作业水深范围为40米至340米。渔业作业均于日间在大陆架外坡海域开展，作业船借助测深仪定位岩架、海峰及海底断崖等海底地形，并沿此类地形漂流作业；漂流速率通过引擎控制，使船首以侧舷角对准主导风向、海浪或海流方向。
捕获鱼类后，研究人员会将其置于30厘米标尺旁进行拍照，测量其标准长度（standard length, SL，单位：厘米）并记录体重。摘除耳石（otoliths）用于年龄与生长相关研究，同时采集组织样本用于遗传学研究。每个物种选取1份标本进行冷冻保存，存放于西澳大利亚博物馆（Western Australian Museum, WAM）以供物种鉴定与编目。此外还计算了单位捕捞努力量渔获量，统计维度为鱼类尾数/手钓小时与千克/手钓小时。
本次调查旨在评估在大堡礁海域开展深水礁坡渔业的可行性。本次手钓调查共记录了18种大堡礁海域鱼类新纪录，其中7种为澳大利亚海域鱼类新纪录。以下18个物种为大堡礁海域鱼类新纪录，其中7种澳大利亚海域新纪录物种以星号（*）标注：
鮨科（Serranidae）：
*巨鳞石斑鱼（Epinephelus magniscuttis Postel et al.）
Epinephelus morrhua (Valenciennes)
Epinephelus octofasciatus Griffin
Epinephelus radiatus (Day)
Saloptia powelli Smith
方头鱼科（Branchiostegidae）：
Branchiostegus wardi Whitley
笛鲷科（Lutjanidae）：
Etelis carbunculus Cuvier
Etelis coruscans Valenciennes
Etelis radiosus Anderson
Paracaesio kusakarii Abe
Paracaesio stonei Raj and Seeto
*Pristipomoides argyrogrammicus (Valenciennes)
*Pristipomoides auricilla (Jordon et al.)
*Pristipomoides filamentosus (Valenciennes)
Pristipomoides flavipinnis Shinohara
*Pristipomoides multidens (Day)
Pristipomoides zonatus (Valenciennes)
裸颊鲷科（Lethrinidae）：
Wattsia mossambica (Smith)
本次调查捕获的其他物种：
Aphareus rutilans
Aprion virescens
Carangoides chrysophrys
Epinephelus cyanopodus
Epinephelus maculatus
Epinephelus tukula
Gymnocranius euanus
Gymnocranius granoculus
Lethrinus miniatus
Lutjanus bohar
Plectropomus leopardus
Seriola dumerili