*

Blue Warehou (2023)

Seriolella brama

  • Daniel Wright (Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences)
  • Justin Bell (Victorian Fisheries Authority)
  • Rowan C. Chick (New South Wales Department of Primary Industries)
  • Klaas Hartmann (Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania)
  • Damian Matthews (South Australian Research and Development Institute)

Date Published: June 2023

You are currently viewing a report filtered by jurisdiction. View the full report.

Toggle content

Summary

The highly mobile Blue Warehou can be found east and west of Bass Strait. All stocks are classified as depleted and a rebuilding strategy has been in place since 2008 to prevent targeted fishing.

Toggle content

Stock Status Overview

Stock status determination
Jurisdiction Stock Stock status Indicators
South Australia Western Depleted

CPUE, catch

Toggle content

Stock Structure

Blue Warehou is highly mobile with a patchy distribution and a wide range of spawning areas [Knuckey and Sivakumaran 2001]. Genetic studies have indicated that there are two separate stocks east and west of Bass Strait [Punt 2006; Talman et al. 2004]. The eastern stock extends offshore from southern New South Wales to southern Tasmania and the western stock extends offshore from western Tasmania northward to western Victoria. Stock structuring between eastern and western stocks has also been reported based on mitochondrial DNA, otolith microchemistry, spawning location and timing, size, age, and growth [Bessell-Browne et al. 2021]. Eastern and western stocks are assessed separately.

Here, stock status is presented at the biological stock level—Eastern and Western.

Toggle content

Stock Status

Western

This cross jurisdictional stock has components in the Commonwealth, South Australia, Victoria, and Tasmania.

Comments provided above (for the eastern stock) in relation to exploitation and management also apply to the western stock.

The last tier 4 analysis for the western stock was conducted in 2013. This analysis included available state catches and determined that standardised CPUE had been below the LRP since 1995, with the exception of 1998 and 2005 [Haddon 2013]. There has been no subsequent tier 4 analysis because CPUE is no longer considered to be a reliable indicator of abundance for this species due to active avoidance by fishers.

Commonwealth-landed catch for the western stock was estimated to be 1.7 t in 2021–22 [Emery et al. 2022], calculated by splitting the catch disposal records based on the logbook apportionment east and west. The weighted average of the previous four calendar years (2017 to 2020) was calculated and used to estimate state catches of 2.3 t for the western stock (there were no estimated discards) [Althaus et al. 2021]. For the 2021–22 fishing season, total catch was estimated to be 4 t. However, there are no reliable indicators to determine if this level of fishing mortality will allow the stock to rebuild in the required timeframe.

Warehou species are not differentiated in South Australia’s commercial multi-species, multi-gear, and multi-sectoral Marine Scalefish Fishery (MSF). No catches of Warehou species were reported in the MSF during 2021–22 [Smart et al. 2023]. There is no information available on the catch of Warehou species by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in South Australian waters. The most recent recreational fishing survey in South Australia in 2021–22 indicated that the annual catch of Blue Warehou was zero [Beckmann et al. 2023].

Blue Warehou landings in the Tasmanian Scalefish Fishery peaked in 1991–92 at 318 t and have decreased substantially since, being below 1 t per year for the last four seasons [Sharples et al. 2023], with about one-third of the catch assumed to be from the Western stock. 

Most of the commercial landings in Victoria are likely from the eastern stock but recreational landings from western Victoria are likely from the western stock, the combination of which is likely to be relatively low. 

The above evidence indicates that the biomass of this stock is likely to be depleted and that recruitment is likely to be impaired.

On the basis of the evidence provided above the Blue Warehou Western biological stock is classified as a depleted stock.

Toggle content

Biology

Blue Warehou biology [Knuckey and Sivakumaran 2001]

Biology
Species Longevity / Maximum Size Maturity (50 per cent)
Blue Warehou

25 years, approximately 760 mm TL and 4 kg

3–4 years, mean length at female maturity is approximately 330 mm LCF

Toggle content

Distributions

Distribution of reported commercial catch of Blue Warehou

Toggle content

Tables

Fishing methods
South Australia
Charter
Handline
Indigenous
Handline
Recreational
Handline
Management methods
Method South Australia
Charter
Gear restrictions
Limited entry
Commercial
Gear restrictions
Limited entry
Spatial closures
Indigenous
Gear restrictions
Spatial closures
Recreational
Gear restrictions
Spatial closures
Catch
South Australia
Indigenous Unknown
Recreational Unknown

Commonwealth – Commercial (Management Methods/Catch). Data provided for the Commonwealth align with the Commonwealth Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery for the 2021–22 financial year.

Commonwealth – Recreational. The Australian government does not manage recreational fishing in Commonwealth waters. Recreational fishing in Commonwealth waters is managed by the state or territory immediately adjacent to those waters, under its management regulations.  

Commonwealth – Indigenous. The Australian government does not manage non-commercial Indigenous fishing in Commonwealth waters, with the exception of Torres Strait. In general, non-commercial Indigenous fishing in Commonwealth waters is managed by the state or territory immediately adjacent to those waters

New South Wales – Indigenous (Management Methods). https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fishing/aboriginal-fishing.

Tasmania – Commercial (Catch). Catches reported for the Tasmanian Scalefish Fishery are for the period 1 July to 30 June the following year. The most recent assessment available is for 2021–22.

Tasmania – Recreational (Management Methods). In Tasmania, a recreational licence is required for fishers using dropline or longline gear, along with nets, such as gillnet or beach seine. The species is subject to a minimum size limit of 250 mm total length. A bag limit of 10 fish and a possession limit of 20 fish (all Warehou species) is in place for recreational fishers.

Tasmania – Indigenous (Management Methods). In Tasmania, Indigenous persons engaged in aboriginal fishing activities in marine waters are exempt from holding recreational fishing licences, but must comply with all other fisheries rules as if they were licensed. Additionally, recreational bag and possession limits also apply. If using pots, rings, set lines or gillnets, Indigenous persons must obtain a unique identifying code (UIC). The policy document Recognition of Aboriginal Fishing Activities for issuing a UIC to a person for Aboriginal Fishing activity explains the steps to take in making an application for a UIC.

Victoria – Indigenous (Management Methods). A person who identifies as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander is exempt from the need to obtain a Victorian recreational fishing licence, provided they comply with all other rules that apply to recreational fishers, including rules on equipment, catch limits, size limits and restricted areas. Traditional (non-commercial) fishing activities that are carried out by members of a traditional owner group entity under an agreement pursuant to Victoria’s Traditional Owner Settlement Act 2010 are also exempt from the need to hold a recreational fishing licence, subject to any conditions outlined in the agreement. Native title holders are also exempt from the need to obtain a recreational fishing licence under the provisions of the Commonwealth’s Native Title Act 1993.

Toggle content

Catch Chart

Commercial catch of Blue Warehou - note confidential catch not shown

Toggle content

References

  1. AFMA 2014, Blue Warehou (Seriolella brama) Stock Rebuilding Strategy 2014, Australian Fisheries Management Authority, Canberra.
  2. AFMA 2021, Harvest strategy framework for the Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery: amended (2021), Australian Fisheries Management Authority, Canberra.
  3. AFMA 2022, Blue warehou (Seriolella brama) Stock Rebuilding Strategy 2022, Australian Fisheries Management Authority, Canberra.
  4. Althaus, F, Thomson, R and Sutton, C 2021, Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery catches and discards for TAC purposes using data until 2020, CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere, Hobart.
  5. Beckmann, CL, Durante, LM, Graba-Landry, A, Stark, KE and Tracey, SR 2023, Survey of recreational fishing in South Australia 2021–22, Report to PIRSA Fisheries and Aquaculture, South Australian Research and Development Institute (Aquatic Sciences), Adelaide, SARDI Publication No. F2022/000385-1, SARDI Research Report Series No. 1161, 185 pp.
  6. Bessell-Browne, P, Day, J, Sporcic, M and Appleyard, S 2021, SESSF species stock structure review: blue warehou, jackass morwong and pink ling, CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere, Hobart.
  7. Department of Environment 2015, Operation of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, 2015, Legislative Report.
  8. Emery, T, Wright, D, Davis, K, Keller, K, Woodhams, J and Curtotti, R 2022, Commonwealth Trawl and Scalefish Hook sectors, in Patterson, H, Bromhead, D, Galeano, D, Larcombe, J, Timmiss, T, Woodhams, J and Curtotti, R (eds), Fishery status reports 2022, Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences, Canberra.
  9. Emery, T, Wright, D, Keller, K, Woodhams, J and Curtotti, R 2023, Commonwealth Trawl and Scalefish Hook sectors, in Butler, I, Patterson, H, Bromhead, D, Galeano, D, Timmiss, T, Woodhams, J and Curtotti, R (eds), Fishery status reports 2023, Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences, Canberra.
  10. Haddon, M 2013, Tier 4 Analyses in the SESSF, including Deep Water Species. Data from 1986–2011. In Tuck GN (ed) 2013, Stock assessment for the Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery 2012, Part 2, Australian Fisheries Management Authority and CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research, Hobart, pp. 407–514.
  11. Henry, GW and Lyle, JM 2003, The national recreational and Indigenous fishing survey. Fisheries Research and Development Corporation, Canberra.
  12. Knuckey, IA and Sivakumaran, KP 2001, Reproductive characteristics and per-recruit analyses of blue warehou (Seriolella brama): implications for the South East Fishery of Australia, Marine and Freshwater Research, 52(4): 575–587.
  13. Lyle, JM, Stark, KE, Ewing, GP and Tracey, SR 2019, 2017-18 Survey of recreational fishing in Tasmania, Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, Hobart, Tasmania.
  14. Murphy, JJ, Ochwada-Doyle, FA, West, LD, Stark, KE, Hughes, JM and Taylor, MD 2022, Survey of recreational fishing in NSW, 2019/20 – Key Results, NSW DPI – Fisheries Final Report Series No. 161, ISSN 2204-8669.
  15. Punt, AE 2006, Updated stock assessment of blue warehou (Seriolella brama) based on data up to 2006, CSIRO SlopeRAG report.
  16. Sharples, R, Cresswell, K, Hartmann, K and Krueck, N 2023, Tasmanian Scalefish Fishery Assessment 2021/22, Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania.
  17. Smart, JJ, McGarvey, R, Feenstra, J, Drew, MJ, Earl, J, Durante, L, Beckmann, CL, Matthews, D, Matthews, JM, Mark, K, Bussell, J, Davey, J, Tsolos, A and Noell, C 2023, Assessment of the South Australian Marine Scalefish Fishery in 2021–22, Report to PIRSA Fisheries and Aquaculture, South Australian Research and Development Institute (Aquatic Sciences), Adelaide, SARDI Publication No. F2017/000427-6, SARDI Research Report Series No. 1184, 259 pp.
  18. Talman, S, Hamer, P, Robertson, S, Robinson, N, Skinner, A and Smith, DC 2004, Stock structure and spatial dynamics of the warehous: a pilot study. Final Report of FRDC Project 2001/004, Primary Industries Research Victoria, Marine and Freshwater Systems, Department of Primary Industries, Queenscliff, Victoria, 3225 pp.
  19. West, LD, Stark, KE, Murphy, JJ, Lyle, JM and Ochwada-Doyle, FA 2015, Survey of recreational fishing in New South Wales and the ACT, 2013/14, Fisheries Final Report Series No. 149, NSW Department of Primary Industries, Wollongong.

Downloadable reports

Click the links below to view reports from other years for this fish.