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Trumpeter Whiting occur along the eastern Australia coastline from northern Queensland to southern New South Wales. The species' biological-stock structure is unknown. Trumpeter Whiting is classified as a sustainable stock in New South Wales but is undefined in Queensland.

Photo: Sydney Fish Market

Trumpeter whiting occur along the east coast of Australia from Lizard Island, Queensland to Narooma, New South Wales [Kailola et al. 1993]. The species is most abundant in southern Queensland, and especially Moreton Bay [Maclean 1971; Weng 1983, 1986], but the biological-stock boundaries remain unknown. Separate assessments of Trumpeter Whiting have been done in Queensland and New South Wales [Burchmore et al. 1988; Coull et al. 1995; Melville and Connolly 2003; Kendall and Gray 2009; Krück et al. 2009].

Here, assessment of stock status is presented at the jurisdictional level—Queensland and New South Wales.

Queensland

Trumpeter Whiting are found throughout Queensland, mostly in deeper bays, estuaries and mangrove creeks [Maclean 1971; Weng 1983, 1986; Williams 2002]. The species is a minor commercial by-product species and popular with recreational fishers. Commercial harvests have been intermittent since logbook reporting commenced in 1988–89. Trumpeter Whiting were mainly harvested by prawn trawlers [Williams 2002], with catches peaking at > 500 t in the early 1990s. However, management changes to the East Coast Trawl Fishery in 2000 prohibited retaining any whiting species, restricting commercial harvests to incidental net and line catches, and reducing average annual catches to < 3 t since 2002. Seasonal and spatial closures are also in place to limit the bycatches of Trumpeter Whiting in Moreton Bay. Estimates of recreational harvests since 2000 show decreasing catches with approximately 50% less Trumpeter Whiting reported during 2019–20 (28 t) than during 2010–11 (56 t) [Teixeira et al. 2021]. Recreational harvests are restricted by a possession limit of 50 fish, although there is no minimum legal size.

There are no sustainability concerns for Trumpeter Whiting, but there is insufficient evidence to confidently classify the status of this stock. On the basis of the evidence provided above, the management unit in Queensland is classified as an undefined stock.

Trumpeter Whiting biology [Burchmore et al. 1988; Kendall and Gray 2009]

Distribution of reported commercial catch of Trumpeter Whiting

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

Queensland – Recreational fishing (Catch). Data are based at the whole of Queensland level and derived from statewide recreational fishing surveys. Where possible, numbers have been converted to weights (t) using best known conversion multipliers. Conversion factors may display regional or temporal variability. In the absence of an adequate conversion factor, data are presented as abundances.

New South Wales – Recreational (Catch). Henry and Lyle [2003]; West et al. [2015]; Murphy et al. [2020]; Murphy et al. [2022].

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

Commercial catch of Trumpeter Whiting - note confidential catch not shown

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