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Ocean Sand Crab occurs around Australia's southerly coastlines from approximately Wide Bay in QLD to Rottnest Island in WA (including TAS). Of the three jurisdictional stocks reported here, those in SA and WA are classified as sustainable, while the NSW stock is classified as undefined.

Ocean Sand Crab is distributed in Australia from Wide Bay in Queensland around the south and east coasts to Rottnest Island in Western Australia, including Tasmanian Waters [Kailola et al. 1993].

The biological stock delineation of Ocean Sand Crab remains unclear. Here, assessment of stock status is presented at the jurisdictional level—South Australia, Western Australia, and New South Wales.

Western Australia

A five-year Instrument of Exemption (issued in 2016) endorsing a single commercial fisher to target Ocean Sand Crab using purpose-designed hourglass traps in waters along the South Coast of WA (Cape Leeuwin to Hopetoun) was extended for a further 5 years in 2021.  Commercial fishing between 2020 and 2022 continued to concentrate along coastal beaches in and around Albany, with annual catch and effort (approximately1–2 t from 1–1.5x103 traplifts) constrained because of low market demand.  

Ocean Sand Crab is not considered an important recreational species in WA, with negligible retention (Gascoyne Coast Bioregion: n=122 retained crabs; other Bioregions: nil) during the 2021/22 statewide integrated survey of boat-based recreational fishing [Ryan et al. 2022].  

Thus, there is a small catch by commercial and recreational fishers and a wide distribution of the species throughout the region.

The above evidence indicates that biomass of this stock is unlikely to be depleted and that recruitment is unlikely to be impaired. Furthermore, the above 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, Ocean Sand Crab in Western Australia is classified as a sustainable stock.

Ocean Sand Crab Biology [Jones and Morgan 1994; Deakin 1996]

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

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

Western Australia – Recreational (Catch). 2017–18 boat based recreational catch nil [Ryan et al. 2019]

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, South Australian Research and Development Institute (Aquatic Sciences), Adelaide, SARDI Publication No. F2022/000385-1. SARDI Research Report Series No. 1161. 185pp.
2. Deakin, S 1996, Reproductive biology of the sand crab (Ovalipes australiensis) found in the Farm Beach/Point Longnose area, Honours Thesis- Adelaide University, South Australia. 54 pp.
3. Jones, DS and Morgan, GJ 1994, A field guide to crustaceans of Australian waters. Reed Books, Chatswood NSW, 216 pp.
4. Jones, GK 1995, A review of the catch and effort and fisheries biology of the Coffin Bay Sand Crab (Ovalipes australiensis) fishery, SARDI Reserach Report Series, No. 7. 23 pp.
5. Jones, GK and Deakin, S 1997, Sand crabs (Ovalipes australiensis ), Fisheries Assessment Report to PIRSA for the Marine Scalefish Fishery Management Committee, South Australian Fisheries Assessment Series 97/12. 20 pp.
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7. Murphy, JJ, Ochwada-Doyle, FA, West, LD, Stark, KE and Hughes, JM 2020, The NSW Recreational Fisheries Monitoring Program - survey of recreational fishing, 2017/18. NSW DPI - Fisheries Final Report Series No. 158.
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9. PIRSA 2013, Management Plan for the South Australian Commercial Marine Scalefish Fishery, PIRSA Fisheries and Aquaculture, Adelaide, 143 pp The South Australian Fishery Management Series, Paper No. 59.
10. PIRSA 2016, Review of size, bag and boat limits in South Australia's recreational fishing sector, marine and freshwater, Support document for the Management Plan for recreational fishing in South Australia, PIRSA Fisheries and Aquaculture, Adelaide, 54 pp.
11. Ryan, KL, Lai, EKM and Smallwood, CB 2022, Boat-based recreational fishing in Western Australia 2020/21, Fisheries Research Report No. 327 Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Western Australia. 221pp.
12. Smart, JJ, Earl, J, McGarvey, R, Feenstra, J, Drew, MJ, Earl, J, Durante, L, Beckmann, CL, Mathews, D, Mathews, JM, Mark, K, Bussel, J, Davey, J, Tsolos, A, and Noell, C 2023, Assessment of South Australian Marine Scalefish Fishery in 2021/22, Report to PIRSA Fisheries and Aquaculture, South Australian Research and Development Institute (Aquatic Sciences), Adelaide, SARDI Publication No. F2017/000427-6, SARDI Research Report Series No. 1184. 259 pp.