Golden Snapper Lutjanus johnii

Northern Territory 

The most recent assessment (2011) estimated biomass of Golden Snapper in the Northern Territory to be approximately 25 per cent of unfished spawning stock biomass, which is below conventional target levels, and egg production to be at approximately 10 per cent of unfished levels, which is below conventional limit levels¹. The assessments are driven by the populations that receive the highest harvest rates, so the status for the Northern Territory can be assumed to be representative of the highest level of exploitation that occurs on any population. The immediate area of concern is in waters around Darwin, where most of the fishing pressure occurs and where abundance, catch and catch rate have substantially declined over the past 10 years². It is likely that populations of Golden Snapper exist in the Northern Territory that are not overfished because they have been subject to low fishing pressure. However, these still require identification in the current stock structure study for this species. Until this knowledge is gained, the modelling for Golden Snapper has been carried out assuming a single stock for the jurisdiction; hence the stock status is reported at this scale. Subsequent reports are likely to include a number of different stocks, with a variety of status classifications, within the Northern Territory. This precautionary approach has been taken because Golden Snapper has vulnerable life history traits (slow growth, late maturity, high longevity) and is highly susceptible to barotrauma when caught in waters deeper than 10 metres^2,3. All of this evidence indicates that the stock is likely to be recruitment overfished. Declining catch rates at low stock size indicate that the current level of fishing pressure is likely to prevent the stock recovering from a recruitment overfished state.

On the basis of the evidence provided above, Golden Snapper in the Northern Territory is classified as an overfished stock.  

Western Australia 

Golden Snapper is not a commercial target species in the demersal fisheries of Western Australia, but is landed in small quantities as byproduct. Golden Snapper are landed by recreational and charter fishers, primarily in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, but only in small quantities ⁴ . Because of the low level of take of Golden Snapper in Western Australia, which occurs across a limited area of the distribution of the species, it is unlikely that Golden Snapper in Western Australia is recruitment overfished, or that the level of fishing mortality is likely to cause the stock to become recruitment overfished. However, insufficient information is available to confidently classify the status of this stock.

On the basis of the evidence provided above, Golden Snapper in Western Australia is classified as an undefined stock.  

Gulf of Carpentaria (Queensland) management unit 

In the Gulf of Carpentaria management unit, Golden Snapper is mainly harvested by the commercial sector. There is no reliable estimate of recreational harvest. Harvest from the adjacent Northern Territory jurisdiction has been low in recent years.

Queensland commercial catches remained stable at 20–35 tonnes (t) over the decade to 2011, with most fish taken by the Gulf of Carpentaria Developmental Fin Fish Trawl Fishery rather than the Gulf of Carpentaria Line Fishery, where participants primarily target Spanish Mackerel. Fish trawl effort in the Gulf of Carpentaria declined markedly in 2012 as a result of trawl effort being transferred to areas in the Northern Territory (outside the Gulf).

No stock assessment has been undertaken to estimate current biomass in relation to unfished biomass. However, standardised catch rates (calculated to 2009) in the trawl fishery showed significant declines after 2006, to approximately half the long-term average⁵. Observer surveys over the period 2004 to 2006 showed that most Golden Snapper caught in the Gulf of Carpentaria Developmental Fin Fish Trawl Fishery were also smaller than the size at maturity (unpublished data). Overall, there is insufficient information available to confidently classify the status of this stock.

On the basis of the evidence provided above, the management unit is classified as an undefined stock.  

East coast (Queensland) management unit  

No stock assessment has been undertaken to estimate current biomass in relation to unfished biomass in the Queensland east coast management unit. Golden Snapper is mainly harvested by the recreational sector.

Recreational harvest remained stable between estimates derived in 2000 (approximately 15 000 fish) and 2010 (approximately 14 000 fish)⁶. According to the 2010 survey, almost as many recreationally caught fish were released as were retained. Given the issues with barotrauma raised above, the actual harvest by this sector is likely to be higher.

The species is taken as byproduct in the East Coast Inshore Fin Fish Fishery, predominantly by net. Annual commercial catches increased from less than 1 t per year from 2000 to 2008, to a peak of 8 t in 2011. Catches in 2012 and 2013 declined from this peak, and in 2013 the catch was approximately 1 t.

No indices of abundance have been estimated, and insufficient information is available to confidently classify the status of the stock.

On the basis of the evidence provided above, the management unit is classified as an undefined stock.