Research to support the development of a Tasmanian Sardine Fishery

Project number: 2023-005
Project Status:
Current
Budget expenditure: $447,000.00
Principal Investigator: Timothy M. Ward
Organisation: University of Tasmania (UTAS)
Project start/end date: 14 Jun 2023 - 27 Feb 2025
Contact:
FRDC
TAGS
Rac Tas
Fisheries Management
Biomass
SPECIES
Sardines

Need

This project is needed to facilitate the development of a Tasmanian Sardine Fishery. To date, information available on the South-eastern Sardine stock has been cobbled together from surveys targeting other species (i.e., Jack Mackerel) that did not cover the entire spawning area of Sardine. This project will address this knowledge gap by providing robust information about the size, distribution and potential productivity of the South-eastern Sardine stock that is needed by NRE Tas to develop management arrangements for the new fishery. The FRDC-funded component of this project (Attachment 1, Figure 1) is designed to complement and utilize data from a concurrent AFMA-funded survey of Jack Mackerel that covers the eastern component of the South-eastern Sardine stock (Attachment 2). This proposal was developed at the request of NRE Tas and has been endorsed by SPF RAG (Attachment 1). The methods that will be used in the project are consistent with those that have been used to underpin the development and management of the SASF (Ward et al. 2021a; Grammer and Ivey 2022; Grammer et al. 2021) and SPF (e.g. Grammer et al 2022a, b; Ward et al. 2020, 2021c).

Objectives

1. To investigate the size, distribution and potential productivity of the South-eastern stock of Australian Sardine.
2. To provide advice to the Department of Natural Resources & Environment Tasmania (NRE Tas) to inform the establishment of management arrangements for the new Tasmanian Sardine Fishery.

Final report

Authors: Tim Ward Katerina Charitonidou Tom Alderson Alex Shute Gretchen Grammer and Gary Carlos
Final Report • 2024-10-27 • 2.16 MB
2023-005-DLD.pdf

Summary

This study documents the first comprehensive evaluation of the spawning biomass of the South Eastern Stock of Australian Sardine (Sardinops sagax). This stock occupies continental shelf waters from the Victorian-South Australian border, east through Bass Strait and along the north-western and north-eastern coasts of Tasmania and north to around Jervis Bay off southern New South Wales. The study applied the Daily Egg Production Method (DEPM, see Parker 1980) using the modified approach established for the adjacent Southern Sardine Stock by Ward et al. (2021). This study combined i) information from a targeted ichthyoplankton survey of the western component of this stock undertaken in December 2023 as part of FRDC Project 2023-005 with ii) data obtained opportunistically from the eastern component of the stock from a Jack Mackerel (Trachurus declivis) survey conducted in January 2024 and funded by the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA). The combined survey covered a total area of almost 150,000 km2. More than 8,500 live Sardine eggs were collected. Sardine eggs were widespread and abundant in Bass Strait and off the coast of western Victoria. The total spawning area was almost 90,000 km2. Adult parameters used to calculate spawning biomass were obtained from the adjacent Southern Sardine Stock. This approach is robust because these parameters are consistent for Sardinops sagax and other species and genera of sardine worldwide. The spawning biomass of the South Eastern Sardine Stock was estimated to be more than 200,000 tonnes. This study demonstrates that this stock has the potential to support a large fishery. We provide recommendations to inform the development of an ecologically sustainable Tasmanian Sardine Fishery.   

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Environment

Towards healthy and sustainable freshwater fish populations – assessing genetic health of priority fish species to inform management

Project number: 2022-008
Project Status:
Current
Budget expenditure: $793,355.00
Principal Investigator: Meaghan Duncan
Organisation: Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (NSW)
Project start/end date: 28 Feb 2023 - 4 Jun 2026
Contact:
FRDC
TAGS
Stock Assessment
Restocking
Rac Nsw
Broodstock
Biomass
SPECIES
Silver Perch
Golden Perch
Murray Cods

Need

There are at least four clear needs supporting the proposal, and these are separated below.

1) Genetic health is important for healthy fisheries. A genetically healthy population has good natural recruitment, connectivity to adjacent populations to promote gene flow, sufficient genetic diversity (this relates directly to adaptive potential) and low inbreeding. If genetic health is eroded, populations are less resilient to anthropogenic and natural impacts, affecting their persistence over the long term.

2) Public investment to support healthy fisheries is significant. There is continuing extensive investment in native fish protection and enhancement, including more than $13B to the MDB under the Basin Plan to restore populations and recover ecosystem function. The relative outcomes of these efforts need to be evaluated to ensure the greatest benefits from public investment.

3) Fish stocking is a key component of recovery efforts. Millions of hatchery fish have been stocked throughout Australian waterways in the last two decades. There are limited data on the impacts of stocked fish on the genetic health of wild populations, but our recent FishGen research indicates issues with using closely related and inbred broodfish within hatcheries.

4) The project will help maintain and improve the genetic health of Australia’s fisheries assets. By providing hatcheries with information to maximise the genetic health of stocked fish, the work will minimise negative impacts on wild populations. This includes (i) informing on minimum population size and geographic location for broodfish sampling to capture appropriate wild genetic diversity, and (ii) identifying the best broodfish combinations within and across hatcheries to avoid inbreeding and promote health of stocked fish. This will help to build natural genetic resilience so that populations can adapt to rapidly changing environments under climate change.

The work will promote the long-term sustainability of wild fish populations in freshwater ecosystems by protecting the genetic integrity of wild populations. This will contribute to realised economic benefits for recreational and commercial fishing, tourism, cultural and mental-health in communities in regional Australia.

Objectives

1. Advance and improve hatchery practices to ensure high quality broodfish are stocked to maintain the genetic health and persistence of wild fish populations.
2. Use genomic and other existing complimentary datasets (stocking records, otolith microchemistry, telemetry) and advanced analytical approaches to track the movements of stocked golden perch, Murray cod and silver perch from their released locations and to inform the Status of Australian Fish Stocks (SAFS).