Pipi ​Donax deltoides

South Australia

Indigenous Australians have occupied the Coorong region in south-eastern South Australia for at least 16 000 years and have harvested Pipi (also known as Goolwa Cockles in South Australia) for the past 10 000 years⁶. Middens in the vicinity of the Murray River mouth in South Australia are composed almost exclusively of the shells of adult Pipi⁷.

Fishers with quota for Pipi from the Lakes and Coorong Fishery, and the Marine Scalefish Fishery operate on the ocean beaches of Younghusband Peninsula, adjacent to the Coorong. Quota holders from the Marine Scalefish Fishery are subject to the same management arrangements (including the annual total allowable commercial catch) as the Lakes and Coorong Fishery. Combined fishery-dependent data from these two fisheries and annual fishery-independent estimates of relative biomass of Pipi on Younghusband Peninsula provide the key performance indicators for these fisheries. A minimum legal length of 35 mm is in place to allow spawning to occur at least once before recruitment to the fishery³. In 2006, available information suggested that the Pipi resource was depleted during the mid to late 2000s⁸. Since 2007, the fishery has been managed under an annual total allowable commercial catch. From 2009, increasing mean annual relative biomass and increasing complexity of size structures suggest recovery of the resource, probably as a result of conservative total allowable commercial catches that have been in place since 2009³. The above evidence from the South Australian commercial fisheries indicates that the biomass of this stock is not recruitment overfished and that the current level of fishing pressure is unlikely to cause the stock to become recruitment overfished.

Estimates of recreational catch are available from telephone-based surveys in the 2000 and 2007 financial years. In 2000, the National Recreational and Indigenous Fishing Survey estimated recreational catch from South Australia to be 22.9 tonnes (t)⁹, representing 1.8 per cent of the total recreational and commercial catch of Pipi. In 2007, the South Australian Recreational Fishing Survey estimated that recreational catch was 5 t, representing 0.8 per cent of the total recreational and commercial catch¹⁰. The small catch of Pipi from the recreational fishery is unlikely to affect the overall status classification in South Australia.

On the basis of the evidence provided above, Pipi in South Australia is classified as a sustainable stock.

Victoria

The presence of middens is evidence that Pipi was harvested historically by Indigenous communities along the Victorian coastline⁶. The harvesting of fish for customary purposes is managed under permit in Victoria, and no permits have been issued for Pipi in recent years. Since 2013, a size limit of 35 mm has applied to the waters of south-western Victoria to the west of Lake Yambuk. In addition to the size limit, management of the recreational fishery includes daily catch limits.

Until recently, the commercial and recreational fisheries of Pipi were directed towards the supply of bait, and fewer than five commercial licences were generally active in any one year. Commercial catches from Discovery Bay have increased over the past few years, but little information is available on the commercial Pipi fishery in Victoria. In 2000, the National Recreational and Indigenous Fishing Survey estimated recreational harvest (numbers) from Victoria to be 638 401 Pipi¹¹, but an estimate of harvest weight was not available. The impacts of recreational harvesting are thought to be localised around beach access points¹². Insufficient information is available to confidently classify the status of this stock.

On the basis of the evidence provided above, Pipi in Victoria is classified as an undefined stock.

New South Wales

The harvest of Pipi in New South Wales is shared between commercial, recreational and Indigenous fishers. Commercial landings have declined from more than 500 t in 2004 to less than 65 t in recent years, despite a significant increase in price over this period. In 2011, a 6-month closure of the commercial fishery and output controls limiting catch to 40 kg per fisher per day were implemented in an attempt to stabilise the fishery. A minimum legal length of 45 mm is in place to allow spawning to occur before recruitment to the fishery¹³. Recreational catch was estimated at 7 t in 2000, based on the National Recreational and Indigenous Fishing Survey¹¹. There are no recent estimates of recreational or Indigenous landings of Pipi. Insufficient information is available to classify the status of this stock.

On the basis of the evidence provided above, Pipi in New South Wales is classified as an undefined stock.