Recreational Western Rock Lobster Fishery Survey

Recreational fishers are responsible for harvesting a significant proportion of the total lobster landings each year. Mail surveys of licensees have been carried out annually since 1986, aimed at estimating the total recreational catch and gleaning additional secondary information on recreational fishing methods, areas fished, frequency of activity and fisher demographic characteristics.The significance of the recreational lobster catch to total lobster landings makes it a component of the fishery that cannot afford to be ignored by those managing the resource. There is a need to have an understanding of where, when and how much lobster is taken by this user group, so that this portion of the catch can be taken into account in stock assessment considerations.This project: * calculates total lobster landings made by recreational fishers and tracks the proportion that these landings make from year to year compared with the commercial catch; * monitors participation rates and documents variations in the usage of the western rock lobster stock by the recreational sector from year-to-year; and * makes predictions of future recreational rock lobster licence sales, usage and catch based on puerulus settlement indices.Time : Ongoing.

休闲捕捞渔民每年的捕捞量占龙虾总上岸量的显著份额。自1986年起，研究团队每年都会对持证休闲渔民开展邮寄调查，旨在估算休闲捕捞总渔获量，并收集关于休闲捕捞方式、作业海域、作业频次以及渔民人口统计特征等额外辅助信息。休闲龙虾捕捞量在龙虾总上岸量中的重要地位，使得该捕捞群体成为渔业资源管理者不容忽视的管理对象。因此，有必要明确该用户群体捕捞龙虾的时间、地点与捕捞规模，以便在渔业资源种群评估中纳入该部分渔获量的考量。本项目具体目标如下：
- 核算休闲捕捞渔民的龙虾总上岸量，并逐年追踪该上岸量相较于商业捕捞的占比变化；
- 监测参与率，并逐年记录休闲捕捞群体对西澳岩龙虾（western rock lobster）资源利用情况的年度波动；
- 基于幼体附着指数（puerulus settlement indices），预测未来休闲岩龙虾许可证的销售情况、资源使用频次及渔获量。
项目周期：持续进行中。