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Blacklip Abalone is harvested in NSW, SA, TAS and VIC, with twelve management zones. Stocks are sustainable in six zones, depleting in two zones, depleted in two zones, undefined in one zone and negligible in one zone.

There are substantial difficulties in applying classical stock assessment models to abalone resources, given the possibly large number of stocks in each fishery, and that stock structure in abalone depart substantially from dynamic pool assumptions required by integrated models. In some regions Haliotis rubra rubra also displays spatially variable growth rates and maturity curves. All jurisdictions therefore rely on indicators and empirical performance measures. Primarily these are commercial catch and catch per unit effort (CPUE; as kg of abalone harvested per hour). but they can also include commercial catch per area searched (CPUA), and metrics derived from fishery independent surveys, and commercial and fishery-independent size composition.   CPUE and similar indicators from individual fishing events are relevant locally but are not indicative of status broadly [Parma et al. 2003], and status of the many populations within a management unit cannot be assumed to be trending in the same direction. Thus, it is only the average CPUE across each spatial reporting unit that provides the broader perspective for fishery assessment. Fishery assessment is usually based on a combination of indicators, and some jurisdictions combine the indicators to give a combined score for stock status. The annual catch by Blacklip Abalone fisheries is generally close to the established total allowable commercial catches (TACCs), with little over-catch or under-catch of the TACC. 

Tasmania Bass Strait Zone Fishery

Two different legal minimum lengths (LMLs) are in place (110 mm and 114 mm) in this zone, reflecting the variation in growth rates across the fishery. Since the creation of this zone in 2003, catch and standardised catch per unit effort (SCPUE) have been relatively stable. The Bass Strait Zone was closed in 2007 due to concerns around the possible risk of transferring abalone viral ganglioneuritis (AVG) from Victoria to Tasmania and re-opened in 2008. In 2016, the total allowable commercial catch (TACC) for the Bass Strait Zone was increased to 77 t on request from industry based on increasing catch rates and retained for 2017. In 2018, Blocks 48 and 49 were transferred from the Northern Zone to the Bass Strait Zone, with a small increase in TACC, to 91 t. Concerns over some components of this zone triggered several precautionary reductions in TACC and in 2022 was set at 80.5 t. In 2019 the zone-wide catch weighted mean SCPUE_CW  (mean SCPUE across SAUs, weighted by catch) declined from 91.6 Kg/Hr in 2016 to 76.5 in 2019, compared with 79.1 kg per hour when the zone was established in 2003 [Mundy and McAllister 2020]. By 2022 the SCPUE_CW had improved and was stable at 88.2 Kg/hr. Proxies for Biomass and Fishing Mortality are derived from the Empirical Harvest Strategy outputs, where Biomass is represented by the catch-weighted mean zonal score for the Target CPUE performance measure, and Fishing Mortality is represented by the catch-weighted mean score for the 4-year CPUE gradient score. The zone-wide proxy for biomass is 7.1, well above the limit reference point, and the zone-wide proxy for fishing mortality is 1.7, above the target reference point for sustainability [McAllister and Mundy 2023].

The above evidence indicates that the biomass of stocks in the Tasmania Bass Strait Zone is unlikely to be depleted and that recruitment is unlikely to be impaired. Additionally, the above evidence also indicates that the current level of fishing mortality is unlikely to cause these stocks to become recruitment impaired.

On the basis of the evidence provided above, the Tasmania Bass Strait Zone Fishery management unit is classified as a sustainable stock.

Tasmania Eastern Zone Fishery

The majority of the Tasmania Eastern Zone Fishery management unit has a legal minimum length (LML) of 138 mm, while the LML for a small area around Freycinet is set at 145 mm as part of a rebuilding program [Mundy and McAllister 2020]. Relative stock biomass in this fishery (estimated using standardised catch per unit effort (SCPUE) as a proxy) has oscillated widely since 1992, with evidence of an approximate eight-year cycle [Mundy and McAllister 2020]. Based on declining mean SCPUE_CW  (mean SCPUE across SAUs, weighted by catch) between 2000 (76 kg per hour) and 2003 (53.8 kg per hour), the total allowable commercial catch (TACC) was reduced from 1190 t to 857 t in 2002 and to 770 t in 2004 [Tarbath and Mundy 2004]. Subsequent increases in SCPUE and increasing median length of the commercial catch led to increases in the TACC by five per cent in 2008, 2009 and 2010 [Tarbath and Gardner 2011], resulting in a TACC of 896 t by 2010. Between 2007 and 2009, the mean SCPUE_CW was stable at around 90 kg per hour, but reports from divers suggested the resource was declining in late 2009. Subsequent rapid declines in SCPUE in most SAUs in late 2010 resulted in a reduced TACC of 721 t for 2011. Mortality  of abalone in the wild across a large proportion of the Eastern Zone was observed in March 2010; this was coincident with a marine heat wave and the overall mortality from these deaths is unknown. Further rapid decline in SCPUE in 2011 resulted in an additional TACC reduction to 549.5 t for 2012. In 2013, minor reductions in the TACC to 528.5 t were made to address local concerns in one sub-region and held for 2014 and 2015 [Mundy and McAllister 2020].

The most significant marine heat wave ever recorded on the east coast of Tasmania peaked in March 2016, with mortalities observed along the central and southern east coast [Oliver et al. 2017, Oliver et al. 2018]. In June 2016, a significant winter storm with the largest swells recorded in a 36 year time series impacted stocks on coastlines exposed to a north-easterly direction [Mundy and Jones 2017], with immediate impacts on abalone availability. Stock rebuilding observed in several key areas of the Tasmania Eastern Zone in 2014 and 2015 ceased in 2016. In late 2017, there was  concern about abalone abundance in the areas worst affected by the marine heat wave and winter storm from Cape Pillar to Eddystone Point and a 75 per cent TACC reduction was imposed for 2018. The SCPUE improved through 2018 and 2019, and in 2019 the mean SCPUE_CW had increased to 62.6 kg per hour. In the absence of recovery of populations north of Cape Pillar triggered closure of five key reporting blocks in 2020, and those blocks remain closed in 2022  [McAllister and Mundy and McAllister 2023]. In 2022 the mean SCPUE_CW  (excluding closed blocks) had improved to 83.2 kg per hour.  Proxies for Biomass and Fishing Mortality are derived from the Empirical Harvest Strategy outputs, where Biomass is represented by the catch-weighted mean zonal score for the Target CPUE performance measure, and Fishing Mortality is represented by the catch-weighted mean score for the 4-year CPUE gradient score.  Overall, the zone-wide proxy for biomass is 6.8, above the limit reference point of 1, and the zone-wide proxy for fishing mortality is 2.5, above the target reference point for sustainability [McAllister and Mundy  2023].

The above evidence indicates that the biomass of stocks in the Tasmania Eastern Zone is unlikely to be depleted and that recruitment is unlikely to be impaired. The above evidence also indicates that the current level of fishing mortality is unlikely to cause these stocks to become recruitment impaired.

On the basis of the evidence provided above, the Tasmanian Eastern Zone Fishery management unit is classified as a sustainable stock.

Tasmania Northern Zone Fishery

The geographic variability in growth dynamics within the Tasmania Northern Zone is reflected in three different legal minimum lengths (LMLs) (120 mm, 127 mm and 132 mm) [Mundy and McAllister 2020]. Regional catch and catch rates have varied between 2000 and 2015 as a function of changing market preference and adaptive management, including effort redistribution and change in LML. The majority of abalone landed from this zone are traditionally unsuited to the live market, and are processed for canned or frozen markets. In 2008, the first of two industry-driven experimental fisheries to improve fish quality commenced in Block 5 with a reduction in LML from 132–127 mm and a 50 t increase in catch, and a second industry-driven experimental fishery commenced in Block 49 in 2011, increasing the total allowable commercial catch (TACC) for the Northern Zone to a peak of 402.5 t. This initiative was not successful [Jones et al. 2014] and has had longer-term negative impacts on biomass. Standardised catch per unit effort (SCPUE) varies across different geographic regions within the Northern Zone, but the catch-weighted SCPUE_CW (mean SCPUE across SAUs, weighted by catch) for the zone has fallen in all the key fishing grounds targeted in the industry program over the past five years despite TACC reductions every year from 2012 to 2017 [Appendix D, Mundy and McAllister 2020]. In 2018, Blocks 48 and 49 were transferred out of the Northern Zone an into the Bass Strait Zone, while Sub-Blocks 6A, 6B, 6C were transferred out of the Central Western Zone and into the Northern Zone. A small decrease in TACC associated with this restructure was made, independent of TACC reductions based on Harvest Strategy outcomes. The mean SCPUE_CW in 2007 prior to the industry experiments was 93.1 kg per hour at a TACC of 280 t, compared with a mean SCPUE_CW of 54.7 kg per hour in 2019 at a TACC of 98t [Mundy and McAllister 2020]. The rate of decline in SCPUE from 2012 to 2017 was sharp, despite consecutive TACC reductions. In 2018 SCPUE_CW improved and that improvement continued in 2019.  In 2022 the SCPUEcw increased to 78.6 Kg/hr, a further improvement from 69.1 Kg/Hr in 2021, and a substantial improvement since 2015 (54.6 Kg/hr) [McAllister and Mundy 2023]. The SAFS approach of considering trends across entire stocks masks sometimes signfiicant changes within a Zone. Continued declines in the King Island  fishery required further TACC reductions, and in 2022 the Northern Zone TACC was set at 59.5 t.

 Proxies for Biomass and Fishing Mortality are derived from the Empirical Harvest Strategy outputs, where Biomass is represented by the catch-weighted mean zonal score for the Target CPUE performance measure, and Fishing Mortality is represented by the catch-weighted mean score for the 4-year CPUE gradient score. The zone-wide proxy for biomass is 5.7, above the limit reference point, while the proxy for fishing mortality is 2.9, which is marginally above the target reference point for sustainability [McAllister and Mundy 2023].

The above evidence indicates that the biomass of stocks in the Tasmania Northern Zone is unlikely to be depleted and that recruitment is unlikely to be impaired. The above evidence also indicates that the current level of fishing mortality is unlikely to cause the stock to become recruitment impaired.

On the basis of the evidence provided above, the Tasmania Northern Zone Fishery management unit is classified as a sustainable stock.

Tasmania Western Zone Fishery

The Tasmania Western Zone Fishery management unit has a legal minimum length (LML) of 140 mm. In 1993–99, the majority of the Western Zone was under-fished (catches ranging from 500–750 t) with effort concentrated in the Eastern Zone where a higher beach price could be achieved. This resulted in substantial accumulation of biomass and high catch rates (1993 mean catch-weighted standardised CPUE (SCPUE_CW) 104.5 kg per hour; 1999 mean SCPUE_CW 163.0 kg per hour). With the introduction of zones in 2000–01 to manage the distribution of effort, the Western Zone total allowable commercial catch (TACC) was elevated to 1260 t [Mundy and McAllister 2018], and remained at this level through to 2008, with mean SCPUE_CW declining to below 130 kg per hour. Widespread selective fishing for animals less than 160 mm SL,  along with long-term declines in standardised catch per unit effort (SCPUE) in most SAUs, led to a further zonal restructure in 2009 with a new Central West Zone containing blocks 6, 7 and 8 previously managed under the Western Zone. Additionally,  spatial catch limits were set annually for four geographic regions , to prevent excess catches in response to economic pressures. The TACC was also reduced in 2009 to 924 t. In 2013, Sub-Block 6D, and Blocks 7 and 8 were moved from the Central Western Zone back into the Western Zone and the Zone TACC increased to 1001 t, associated with the increased fishing area, but effectively retaining the same level of catch across blocks 6D, 7 to 13 as in 2012 [Tarbath and Mundy 2014]. In 2013, mean SCPUE_CW declined to 111.7 kg per hour triggering a TACC reduction to 840 t in 2014, and maintained for 2015. In 2016 the TACC was again reduced by 123 t to 717 t, and minor improvements in SCPUE_CW were observed in 2018. In 2019 the SCPUE_CW declined to 91.1 Kg per hour, the lowest catch rate on record for this zone. Continued declines through 2019 and the formal introduction of the Harvest Strategy resulted in significant TACC reductions for 2021 and 2022, with the TACC reduced to 339.5 t in 2022. Catch reductions have led to two consecutive years of improvement in  SCPUE_CW  and in 2022 was 106.8 Kg/Hr, and increase of 15.7 Kg per hour from 2019.

Proxies for Biomass and Fishing Mortality are derived from the Empirical Harvest Strategy outputs, where Biomass is represented by the catch-weighted mean zonal score for the Target CPUE performance measure, and Fishing Mortality is represented by the catch-weighted mean score for the 4-year CPUE gradient score. The zone-wide proxy for biomass is 3.0, above the limit reference point of 1.0, while the proxy for fishing mortality has improved to  1.9, and abovethe target reference point for sustainability [McAllister and Mundy McAllister 2023].

The above evidence indicates that stocks in the Tasmania Western Zone are likely to be depleted and that recruitment is likely to be impaired. The above evidence also 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 Tasmania Western Zone Fishery management unit is classified as a sustainable stock.

Blacklip Abalone biology [Shepherd 1973, Officer 1999, Tarbath et al. 2001, Tarbath and Officer 2003]

Distribution of reported commercial catch of Blacklip Abalone

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

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.

Commercial catch of Blacklip Abalone - note confidential catch not shown

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