Education & Outreach
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Education & Outreach Newsletter 15 - Australia
15 - Australia
Mark-recapture studies reveal secret lives of the pink snapper (Sparidae) in Australia
Since (Snapper Pagrus auratus,Sparidae) (see front cover of newsletter) is prized among demersal fish species caught by commercial and recreational line fishers throughout southern Australia, including the West Coast of Australia. Although widely distributed, spawning aggregations occur in relatively few embayments. One such well-documented location is Cockburn Sound, in metropolitan waters off Perth, Western Australia (W.A). While spawning occurs elsewhere, juveniles produced in Cockburn Sound contribute widely to stocks along the West Coast (ca 800 km of coastline). As metropolitan waters are accessible to the largest human population in W.A. and subject to heavy fishing effort, and because Cockburn Sound contains industry and port facilities, there is significant risk to these aggregating fish and a seasonal closure to fishing was introduced to protect them.
Mark-recapture studies have demonstrated that aggregating snapper may either remain in Cockburn Sound outside the spawning period, or leave the Sound, some animals moving over 100 km away (Wakefield et al., 2011). We know little about the timing, pathways and behaviour of fish migrating to the aggregation location and the risks to these migrating fish. Our research is using acoustic telemetry to track the movements of 30 adult snapper to and from Cockburn Sound. Using a system of receiver gates, we can detect when each individual fish moves into or out of the Sound, how fast it happens and whether it repeatedly migrates each year. The work will be completed in 2013 and will further inform a ‘weight of evidence’ approach to the assessment and management of stocks of this species. The research is funded by the Department of Fisheries Western Australia and also uses the facilities of the Ocean Tracking Network.
David Fairclough Reference Wakefield, C. B., Fairclough, D.V., Lenanton, R. C. J. and Potter, I.C. (2011). Spawning and nursery habitat partitioning and movement patterns of Pagrus auratuson the lower west coast of Australia. Fisheries Research 109:243-251. Further information:
Research Scientist, Department of Fisheries Western Australia
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