A review of past and present inshore gill netting in Tasmania with particular reference to the Bastard trumpeter Latridopsis j(m;teri Castelnau

Abstract

The evolution of regulatory control of inshore gill netting in Tasmania is documented and compared with that of the mainland Australian States; the historical catch records of one fish in particular, the bastard trumpeter (Latridopsis forsteri Castelnau), are used to discuss the appropriateness of past and present management of the Tasmanian inshore scale fishery. The need for regulation of inshore gill netting first became apparent in the late 1870's; limited control measures were introduced in Tasmania in 1890, primarily to protect juvenile and adult breeding stocks of salmonids. The regulations have been altered little since that time and, at present, lag behind those of the mainland States. Declines in the recorded commercial catch of the bastard trumpeter occurred in the late 1870's and early 1880's and again between 1910 and 1918; more recently a general decline has been shown from the mid-1950's to the present. These declines are discussed in relation to inshore gill netting effort and regulatory control of gill netting in Tasmania, and to the known biology of this species.