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Southern Shortfin Eel occurs in coastal streams of eastern Australia, from southern QLD to the Murray River (SA). A distinct sub-species is also found in New Zealand and islands of the western Pacific. There is currently no cross-jurisdictional stock assessment for Southern Shortfin Eel in Australia, so this assessment is presented at the jurisdictional level. Southern Shortfin Eel is classified as undefined in QLD and NSW, and sustainable in VIC and TAS.

Photo: Museums Victoria

Southern Shortfin Eel is widespread in coastal streams of south-eastern Australia, from the Pine River in southern Queensland to the Murray River in South Australia, including Tasmania. The species also occurs in New Zealand and western Pacific Islands [Beaumer 1996; Allen et al. 2002]. Genetic studies indicate that Shortfin Eel represents two geographically separate subspecies; Anguilla australis australis in Australia and Anguilla australis schmidtii in New Zealand and western Pacific islands [Shen and Tzeng 2007; Arai 2016]. As there is currently no cross-jurisdictional stock assessment undertaken for the shared stock, assessment of stock status is presented here at the jurisdictional level—New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania and Victoria.

Tasmania

In Tasmania, the freshwater eel fishery catches adult Southern Shortfin Eels (A. australis) and Longfin Eels (A. reinhardtii). The fishery is primarily focused on Southern Shortfin Eels, which typically constitute more than 95% of the harvest by weight. The commercial fishery is managed by the Inland Fishery Service (IFS) with 12 commercial fishing licences that restrict operators to geographically defined areas. Fishing is not permitted in an extensive region in Tasmania, including the World Heritage Area and 99% of rivers. Harvesting of juvenile eels is prohibited through application of a size limit. The retained commercial catch for all eel species for the 2021–22 season is recorded as 31.2 t which comprises those animals at or exceeding 300mm in length. A total catch was recorded as 56.8 t. Recreational eel fishing is limited by a bag limit, possession limit and size limit which apply to both species. 

The Inland Fisheries Service (IFS) supports the fishery and the stock through annual catch of juvenile eels during their annual upstream migration and relocating these above stream structures. Eel ladders and dam bypasses to assist eel migration have continued to be developed by IFS and Hydro Tasmania. Eel catches across both species are reported to have remained consistent over decades, with most of the fluctuation in catches due to changes in the commercial fishing sector and fluctuating market demand. This indicates that the biomass of the Southern Shortfin Eel stock in Tasmania is unlikely to be depleted and recruitment is unlikely to be impaired. 

A substantial portion of Tasmania's waterways are protected from eel fishing, including those in the World Heritage Area where there are also fewer barriers to eel migration. Existing management restrictions have successfully maintained catches of both species at a consistent level (although data available to assess this are limited). This evidence 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, Southern Shortfin Eel in Tasmania is classified as a sustainable stock.

[Beumer 1996; Allen et al. 2002; McKinnon et al. 2002; Crook et al. 2014].

New South Wales – Commercial (Catch). Data are provided in financial years.

New South Wales – Recreational (Catch). Estimates from Murphy et al. [2020,2022], based on a survey of Recreational Fishing Licence households. Note, estimates for eels are highly uncertain, with a relative standard error of greater than 30% and based on survey data from fewer than 20 households.

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

Queensland – Indigenous (Management Methods). for more information see https://www.daf.qld.gov.au/business-priorities/fisheries/traditional-fishing

Queensland – Commercial (Catch). Queensland commercial and charter data have been sourced from the commercial fisheries logbook program. Further information available through the Queensland Fisheries Summary Report https://www.daf.qld.gov.au/business-priorities/fisheries/monitoring-research/data/queensland-fisheries-summary-report 

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.
Tasmania - Recreational (Management Methods). In Tasmania, an angling licence is required to take eels. There is a 12 fish daily bag limit for eels with a minimum size of 300 mm and a possession limit of 24 eels at any one time [IFS 2018].
Tasmania - Indigenous (Management Methods). In Tasmania, Indigenous persons engaged in traditional 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. For details, see the policy document 'Recognition of Aboriginal Fishing Activities” (https://fishing.tas.gov.au/Documents/Policy%20for%20Aboriginal%20tags%20and%20alloting%20an%20UIC.pdf).

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2. Arai, T 2016, Taxonomy and distribution. In: Biology and Ecology of Anguillid Eels (Arai, T. ed.), pp. 1-20. CRC Press, London.
3. Australian Survey Research 2012, Improving Inland Recreational Fishing Survey Report. DPI: Fisheries Victoria. Australian Survey Research Group Pty Ltd, Ormond, Victoria. 89 pp.
4. Australian Survey Research Group Pty Ltd, September 2018, Victorian Fisheries Authority Recreational Fishing Survey 2018
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11. Inland Fisheries Service 2018, Tasmanian Inland Recreational Fishery Management Plan 2018–28
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16. Richards, T 2011, A late nineteenth-century map of an Australian Aboriginal fishery at Lake Condah. Australian Aboriginal Studies 2:64-87.
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19. Victorian Fisheries Authority 2017, Review of key Victorian fish stocks — 2017 Victorian Fisheries Authority Science Report Series No. 1.