*

Ocean Jackets are found along the southern half of Australia, with sustainable stocks in NSW, SA and Commonwealth waters. Stocks in VIC are undefined, with limited information available. Stocks are negligible in TAS.

Ocean Jackets are distributed along the southern half of Australia from Cape Moreton in Queensland around to North West Cape in Western Australia, including northern Tasmania [Kailola et al 1993]. Throughout their distribution, Ocean Jackets are found in many habitats. As juveniles they are found in estuaries and sheltered bays amongst seagrass beds of Zostera sp. and Posidonia sp. [Grove-Jones and Burnell 1991, Jones and West 2005]. Sub-adults and adults are found in different habitats such as rocky reefs, sandy–mud benthos, or sponge–coralline algae gardens in waters from 2–250 m [Grove-Jones and Burnell 1991, Hutchins 1999], where they are known to aggregate seasonally in large schools.

Little is known about the biological structure of the Ocean Jacket stock. Here, assessment of stock status is presented at the management unit level—Commonwealth Trawl Sector, Great Australian Bight Trawl Sector (Commonwealth); and at the jurisdictional level—New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia.

New South Wales

In New South Wales, Ocean Jackets have a long history of commercial exploitation from the use of oceanic demersal fish traps and demersal otter trawls. Records of reported landings indicate that substantial peaks of between 600 and 900 t per year occurred during the 1920s and the 1950s. These peaks were followed by large declines, suggesting that the species is vulnerable to over-exploitation. Between 2000–01 and 2006–07, annual commercial landings from oceanic demersal fish traps and demersal otter trawls increased from 134 to 430 t. Since then, the variability in catch has been less as it peaked in 2010 at 510 t and then declined to 163 t in 2021–22, with a five-year average of 228 t. Since 2009–10, CPUE has been relatively stable [Smoothey 2023].

Ocean Jacket is important to the New South Wales recreational and charter boat fishers. Since 2015–16, an average of 4,499 Ocean Jackets have been caught annually by charter boat fishers (range: 1,256–7,527 fish) [Hughes et al. 2023]. The most recent estimate during 2019–20 of the recreational harvest of Leather Jackets (all species combined) in New South Wales, based on a survey of Recreational Fishing Licence (RFL) Households, was approximately 38,111 with 52% released alive caught, with the majority landed using line fishing with bait [Murphy et al. 2022].  RFL households comprised at least one member who possessed a long-term (1 and 3 years duration) fishing licence and included other fishers resident within their households. The recent recreational fishing estimate from 2019–20 is down from previous estimates of 53,062 and 71,000 fish recorded during 2017–18 and 2013–14, respectively [West et al. 2015; Murphy et al. 2020].

The recent decreases in commercial and recreational catches, coupled with the boom-bust history of the fishery, may suggest that the biomass is declining. However, the above evidence indicates that the biomass of this stock is unlikely to be depleted and that recruitment is unlikely to be impaired.

Based on the evidence presented above, Ocean Jacket in New South Wales is classified as a sustainable stock.

Ocean Jacket biology [Kailola et al. 1993; Miller et al. 2010; Miller and Stewart 2012]

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

New South Wales – Recreational (Catch). Murphy et al. [2022].

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 fishinglicence under the provisions of the Commonwealth’s Native Title Act 1993.

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