An assessment of the impact of offshore recreational fishing in NSW waters on the management of commercial fisheries
Arresting the decline of the commercial and recreational fisheries for mulloway (Argyrosomus japonicus)
There is a need to synthesize all existing information and to obtain new basic biological and fisheries-related information on mulloway to be able to make informed management decisions concerning the continued sustainable harvesting of the species in NSW waters and elsewhere and to arrest the apparent decline in populations. Most importantly, the growth and age and reproductive biology of mulloway needs to be accurately described and data on the length, sex and age compositions of catches and how these vary between different fishing sectors and gear types needs to be collected and analyzed to provide us with even the most basic understanding of the potential effects of fishing on this very important species. Yield-per-recruit analyses need to be done to aid discussions on appropriate legal lengths.