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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.

South Australia

In South Australia, access to take Ocean Sand Crab is provided via a Marine Scalefish Fishery (MSF) licence endorsed with Sand Crab entitlements [PIRSA 2013]. Commercial fishers are restricted to a nominated quantity of crab nets/pots. Recreational fishers also target Sand Crabs using hoop or drop nets, and have a combined Ocean Sand/Blue Swimmer Crab bag and boat limit of 20 and 60 crabs, respectively [PIRSA 2016].  Throughout South Australia, a minimum legal size of 100 mm carapace width (measured across the widest point) has been enforced since 1992 [Jones 1995]. The fishery is largely based on the capture of male crabs, as the majority of females captured are below the minimum legal size [Jones and Deakin 1997].

The most recent stock assessment [Smart et al. 2023] used data up to 30 June 2022. The primary measures of biomass and fishing mortality for the South Australian jurisdiction are the total commercial catch and targeted nominal CPUE. Comparisons between recent catch and CPUE trends and values in the past decade are considered to provide a reliable proxy for relative biomass and fishing mortality.  

Trends in commercial catches of Sand Crab have generally declined since 2005. The total harvest in 2018 was 44.2 t, this was below the ten-year average (2008–17; 67.7 ± 5.9 t) and increased to 56 t in 2021–22. Recreational catch levels are considered to be relatively low, and the most recent estimate was 2 ±1 t in 2021–22 [Smart et al. 2023]. Previously, the CPUE has remained relatively stable at higher levels, increasing to 151 kg.fisher-day^-1 in 2020. The total targeted effort was 277 fisher-days in 2021–22 which produced a CPUE (targeted crab net effort) of 177 kg.fisher-day^-1. The CPUE in 2021–22 was the highest on record. 

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 South 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.
6. Kailola, P, Williams, MJ, Stewart, PC, Reichlet, RE, McNee, A, Grieve, C 1993, Australian fisheries resources, Bureau of Resource Sciences and Fisheries Research and Development Corporation, Canberra.
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.
8. Murphy, JJ, Ochwada-Doyle, FA, West, LD, Stark, KE, Hughes, JM and Taylor, MD 2022, Survey of recreational fishing in NSW, 2019/20 – Key Results, NSW DPI - Fisheries Final Report Series No. 161.
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.