A review of the past and present management of gill netting in Tasmania with particular reference to the Bastard Trumpeter, Latridopsis forsteri

Regulatory development of the inshore fishery in Tasmania is documented and compared with that of mainland Australian States, and the appropriateness of Tasmania's past and present management of the fishery is examined using information on one fish in particular, the bastard trumpeter (Latridopsis forsteri). Tasmania, with Western Australia, has lagged behind the other Australian States in meaningful regulation of inshore netting. The need for regulation first became apparent in Tasmania in the late 1870s and early 1880s, and limited control measures (minimum net mesh sizes and minimum fish sizes) were introduced in the 1880s and 1890s, primarily to protect juvenile stocks. The regulations have changed little since that time. Prior to 1925, the sea fishery was administered jointly with the more prominent inland fishery, and its management suffered accordingly. A separate sea fisheries authority was established in 1925, but its main responsibility was licensing and enforcement, and it was not until the mid 1970s that it gained true independence and the resources necessary for the development of sound management strategies. In the meantime, the inshore scale fishery of Tasmania had been eclipsed by the deep-sea, crayfish, and abalone fisheries. Anecdotal accounts in the early literature indicate that a decline in the inshore scale fishery in Tasmania in the late 1870s and early 1880s was associated with depletion of localised fishing grounds. Historical records reveal that another significant decline in the catch of bastard trumpeter occurred between 1910 and 1918. From 1930 to 1939, the catch fluctuated considerably, probably being maintained by more intensive fishing of the inshore waters. Since 1944/45 there has been a general and continuing decline in the catch. Present day commercial catches of bastard trumpeter are taken mainly in summer in the eastern and south eastern coastal waters of the State. They are rarely above 150 kg and usually below 50 kg. Non-commercial gill netting (by amateurs and crayfishermen seeking bait) appears to have increased markedly since the 1960s, and probably takes as many fish as commercial netting. Declines in the commercial catch of bastard trumpeter are related to gill netting effort, past and present regulation of gill netting, and the biology of this species. Changes to the present netting regulations in Tasmania are recommended in this light.