*

VONGOLES (2023)

Katelysia spp.

  • Greg Ferguson (South Australian Research and Development Institute)
  • Anthony Hart (Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Western Australia)
  • John Keane (Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania)

Date Published: June 2023

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Summary

Vongoles are found in southern coastal waters. They occur in the intertidal zone of shallow bays and estuaries. SA has three management zones, with one zone sustainable, one undefined and one depleted. The stock in TAS is depleted. The WA stock is negligible.

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Stock Status Overview

Stock status determination
Jurisdiction Stock Stock status Indicators
Tasmania Ansons Bay Vongole Fishery Depleted Biomass estimate, recruitment
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Stock Structure

Vongole (Katelysia spp.) is a species complex that inhabits southern coastal waters from Augusta in Western Australia to Port Jackson in New South Wales. They are found on sand banks in shallow bays and estuaries from the intertidal zone to a depth of five metres [Cantin 2010]. Stock structure is unknown. However, given the short larval life span, about 16 days for K. rhytiphora hatchery animals [Gluis and Li 2014], it is likely that Vongole populations in individual bays would be self-seeding and constitute functionally separate stocks.

Due to the potential for there to be a large number of stocks, assessment of stock status is presented at the management unit level—Western Australian Vongole Fishery; Ansons Bay Vongole Fishery (Tasmania); Coffin Bay Cockle Fishing Zone, Port River Cockle Fishing Zone, and West Coast Cockle Fishing Zone (South Australia).

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Stock Status

Ansons Bay Vongole Fishery

The harvest strategy for Vongole in Tasmania in the Shellfish Fishery Policy Document [DPIW 2007] uses biomass and size-composition as performance indicators but does not define a limit reference point below which the stock would be classified as recruitment impaired. Biomass surveys of the Ansons Bay Vongole fishery are conducted every 2–3 years with total allowable commercial catches (TACCs) determined to be up to 10% of the biomass estimate (at the 95% confidence interval).

Exploitation rates have been below the maximum of 10% and minimum legal limits (32 mm shell length (SL)) are set at a size that enables the majority of Vongole to reproduce at least once prior to being available for harvest. Despite these measures, large stock declines occurred in 2014 and 2015 resulting in a fishery closure from 1 September 2015 onwards. As a result of the long term closure the licence holders have handed in their entitlements and the fishery has effectively ceased. The most recent 2021 estimate of biomass available to the Ansons Bay Vongole Fishery was 13.22 tonnes (t) (95% CI of 10.52–15.92 t), a level that is 6.5% of the peak biomass recorded in 2001. The decline of the stock from 2015 onwards is likely attributable to a combination of mortality of Vongole as a result of extreme rainfall and flood events in the north-east of Tasmania in 2014, followed by ongoing recruitment failure since that time [Keane 2021].

The above evidence indicates that the biomass of this stock is likely to be depleted and that recruitment is likely to be impaired. The above evidence indicates that current fishing mortality is constrained by management to a level that should allow the stock to recover from its recruitment impaired state; however measurable improvements are yet to be detected.

On the basis of the evidence provided above, the Ansons Bay Vongole Fishery (Tasmania) management unit is classified as a depleted stock.

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Biology

Vongole biology [Riley et al. 2005; Gorman et al. 2010; Dent et al. 2012] *Note that differences in maturity (50 per cent) occur among species and locations

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

29 years, 55 mm SL  

4 years, 23–31 mm SL *

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Distributions

Distribution of reported commercial catch of VONGOLES
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Tables

Fishing methods
Tasmania
Commercial
Unspecified
Indigenous
Hand collection
Recreational
Hand collection
Management methods
Method Tasmania
Commercial
Gear restrictions
Limited entry
Size limit
Spatial closures
Temporal closures
Total allowable catch
Indigenous
Bag limits
Recreational
Bag limits
Catch
Tasmania
Indigenous Unknown
Recreational Unknown

Active Vessels. Vongole can be collected from beaches and bay on foot therefore, ‘vessels’ are not always used. Hence, numbers of licences and fishers are presented here instead of vessel numbers. Licences refer to the number of licence holders with an endorsement to take Vongole for sale.   

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Catch Chart

Commercial catch of VONGOLES - note confidential catch not shown
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References

  1. 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, SARDI Publication No. F2022/000385-1, SARDI Research Report Series No. 1161. South Australian Research and Development Institute (Aquatic Sciences) Adelaide. 185 pp.
  2. Cantin, A 2010, Population biology of two sympatric mud cockles, Katelysia peronii and K. scalarina (Bivalvia: Veneridae), with implications for their management, PhD thesis, Flinders University, Adelaide.
  3. Dent, J, Mayfield, S and Carroll, J 2016, Harvestable biomass of Katelysia spp. in the South Australian commercial Mud Cockle Fishery, Report to Primary Industries and Regions South Australia, Fisheries and Aquaculture, SARDI Publication F2014/000191-2, SARDI Research Report Series 898, SARDI, Adelaide.
  4. Dent, J, Mayfield, S, Burch, P, Gorman, D and Ward, TM 2012, Distribution, harvestable biomass and fisheries biology of Katelysia spp. in the South Australian commercial Mud-Cockle Fishery, Fishery assessment report for Primary Industries and Regions South Australia Fisheries and Aquaculture, SARDI Publication F2010/000263-2, SARDI Research Report Series 595, South Australian Research and Development Institute (Aquatic Sciences), Adelaide.
  5. Department of Primary Industries and Water 2007, Shellfish fishery policy document, Wild Fisheries Management Branch, DPIW, Hobart.
  6. Ferguson, G, Heldt, K, Stobart, B, Mayfield, S 2022, Harvestable biomass in the South Australian Vongole Fishery (Katelysia spp.). Report to PIRSA Fisheries and Aquaculture. SARDI Publication No. F2014/000191-3. SARDI Research Report Series No. 1127. 37 pp.
  7. Gluis, MR and Li, X 2014, Hatchery manual for larval rearing of Vongole Katelysia rhytiphora, Fisheries Research and Development Corporation Project 2009/208, South Australian Research and Development Institute (Aquatic Sciences), Adelaide.
  8. Gorman, D, Mayfield, S, Burch, P and Ward, TM 2010, Distribution, harvestable biomass and fisheries biology of Katelysia spp. In the South Australian commercial mud cockle fishery, Fishery assessment report for PIRSA Fisheries, SARDI Publication F2010/000263-1, SARDI Research Report Series 442, South Australian Research and Development Institute (Aquatic Sciences), Adelaide.
  9. Heldt, K and Mayfield, S 2020, Harvestable biomass of Katelysia spp. in the South Australian Vongole Fishery. Report to PIRSA Fisheries and Aquaculture. South Australian Research and Development Institute (Aquatic Sciences), Adelaide. SARDI Publication Number. F2014/000191-2. SARDI Research Report Series No. 1060. 40pp
  10. Keane, J 2021, 2021 Small Bivalve Fishery Assessment - Katelysia scalarina - Ansons Bay, Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies Report, University of Tasmania, Hobart.
  11. Keane, JP and Gardner, C 2017, 2017 Small Bivalve Fishery assessment. Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies Report, University of Tasmania, Hobart.
  12. Miller-Ezzy, PA, Stone, DAJ and Li, X 2021, Mud Cockle (Katelysia spp.) stock enhancement / restoration, Practical implementation and policy evaluation, Final Report for FRDC Project No. 2014/028, South Australian Research and Development Institute (Aquatic Sciences). 61 pp.
  13. Primary Industries and Regions South Australia 2013, Management plan for the South Australian Commercial Marine Scalefish Fishery, South Australian Fisheries Management Series: Paper 59, PIRSA, Adelaide.
  14. Riley, SP, Green, RM, Zacharin, W and Maguire, GB 2005, Growth models and age determination for the intertidal venerid clam Katelysia scalarina (Lamarck 1818) from three sites in Tasmania, Australia, Fisheries Research and Development Corporation Project 93/232, in GB Maguire (ed) Enhancing Tasmanian clam resources, FRDC, Tasmania.

Downloadable reports

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