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Painted Sweetlips are found throughout the tropical Indo-West Pacific region, from the Red Sea and East Africa to Japan and New Caledonia. There are six stocks in Australia of which two are considered sustainable, two are undefined and two are negligible.

Photo credit: NT Fisheries

The Painted Sweetlips Diagramma pictum is a member of the family Haemulidae broadly distributed throughout the tropical Indo-West Pacific region, from the Red Sea and East Africa to Japan and New Caledonia [Randall et al. 1997; Allen 2018]. Sweetlips exhibit high degrees of phenotypic plasticity and morphological variation, and the taxonomy of this group has been the subject of considerable debate in recent years. Five geographically discrete subspecies of Painted Sweetlip were described by Johnson et al. [2001], however most subspecies have since been elevated to the status of species rank [Tavera et al. 2018; Damadi et al. 2023]. As of 2023, Painted Sweetlips comprise two recognised sub-species within Australian waters – D. p. pictum and D. p. labiosum [Damadi et al. 2023]. Reported catch of Painted Sweetlips likely also includes morphologically similar species (e.g., Plectorhinchus caeruleonothus). The stock structure of Painted Sweetlips in Australian waters is unknown.

Adults are found in shallow coastal waters and coral reefs to a depth of 80 m and juveniles often occur in weedy areas [Allen 2018]. In Australia, Painted Sweetlips are distributed from the Houtman Abrolhos Islands in Western Australia, throughout the Northern Territory and Queensland down to waters off Sydney in New South Wales. While there have been no studies on the biology of Painted Sweetlips in Australian waters, overseas studies indicate that they are relatively productive, maturing at less than three years of age, albeit in an overfished stock in the Arabian Gulf which has likely been subjected to fishing-induced reductions in length and age at maturity [Grandcourt et al. 2007; Grandcourt et al. 2011]. 

Here the assessment of stocks will be presented at the management level for Queensland East Coast and Queensland Gulf of Carpentaria, and the jurisdictional level for the Commonwealth, New South Wales, Northern Territory and Western Australia.

Western Australia

The majority of the commercial catch of Painted Sweetlips in WA is landed in the Pilbara Fish Trawl (Interim) Managed Fishery. They have also been landed in small quantities in the Gascoyne Demersal Scalefish Managed Fishery, Northern Demersal Scalefish Managed Fishery, and West Coast Demersal Scalefish (Interim) Managed Fishery. Painted Sweetlips are assessed on the basis of the status of several indicator species (including, for example, Red Emperor, Rankin Cod, and Bluespotted Emperor in the Pilbara region, and Red Emperor and Goldband Snapper in the Kimberley region) across the North Coast Demersal Resource (NCDR) that represents the entire inshore demersal suite of species occurring at depths of 30–250 m [Newman et al. 2018]. The indicator species in the Pilbara and Kimberley have been classified as sustainable [Wakefield et al. 2023]. The level of risk associated with the sustainability of Painted Sweetlips in the NCDR is assessed as low. This assessment of Painted Sweetlips is also supported by the results of a data-limited Catch-MSY assessment, where recent catches are compared to model predictions for maximum sustainable yield (MSY).

The total catch of Painted Sweetlips across WA over the last 10 years (2013–22) has ranged from 65–120 t, with a mean annual catch of 94 t. This is consistent with averages catches across the previous 10 years of 86 t. Recreational and charter catches are relatively low compared to the commercial catch, in the past 10 years where reliable catches estimates are available, their contribution of the total catch has averaged approximately 5%. Analyses using a Catch-MSY model applied to data on annual catches for this species (1977–2022), indicated that annual catches have fluctuated around the median model estimate for MSY since 1992, with the exceptions being 1996, 2003–2004, and 2017–18 where catches were above the 95% CI of MSY. Catches were below the lower 95% CI from 2009–11. For all years the predicted values for biomass remained above the median prediction for BMSY, and fishing mortality remained below FMSY. However, it is important to recognise that Catch-MSY is a data-limited technique with strong assumptions, dependent on user inputs. For this assessment, these included specified ranges for initial depletion (0.8–0.975), based on a low level of fishing pressure prior to the start of the time series, final depletion (0.15–0.7), based on recent catches relative to maximum recorded annual catch and the non-targeted nature of commercial fishing for this species, and low resilience (r=0.1–0.6, assuming an age consistent with those for several other species within the same family). Given the relatively low levels of overall landings of Painted Sweetlips in Western Australia, recent catches of this species remaining within the predicted MSY range, and the status of the indicator species for the NCDR, it is unlikely that the biomass of this stock is depleted, and recruitment is unlikely to be impaired. Furthermore, the current level of fishing mortality is unlikely to cause the stock to become recruitment impaired.

On the basis of the evidence provided above, Painted Sweetlips in WA is classified as a sustainable stock.

[Loubens 1980; Grandcourt et al. 2011] 

Distribution of reported commercial catch of Painted Sweetlip.

Commonwealth – Commercial (Management Methods/Catch). Data provided for the Commonwealth are 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 the Torres Strait. In general, non-commercial Indigenous fishing in Commonwealth waters is managed by the state or territory immediately adjacent to those waters.

Northern Territory – Charter (Management Methods). In the Northern Territory, charter operators are regulated through the same management methods as the recreational sector but are subject to additional limits on license and passenger numbers.

Northern Territory - Indigenous (Management Methods). The Fisheries Act 1988 (NT), specifies that: “Unless expressly provided otherwise, nothing in this Act derogates or limits the right of Aboriginal people who have traditionally used the resources of an area of land or water in a traditional manner to continue to use those resources in that area in that manner.”

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 based at the whole of Queensland level and derived from statewide recreational fishing surveys. Estimates have been converted to weight (tonnes) using best known conversion multipliers. Conversion factors may display regional or temporal variability.   

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

Queensland – Commercial (Management Methods). Harvest strategies are available at: https://www.daf.qld.gov.au/business-priorities/fisheries/sustainable/harvest-strategy

Western Australia – Recreational (catch). Boat-based recreational catch between 1 September 2020 and 31 August 2021 from Ryan et al. [2022]. Please note that catches of Barramundi are underestimates as shore-based and boat-based fishers that only operated in freshwater were out of scope of the survey.

Western Australia – Recreational (management methods). A Recreational Fishing from Boat Licence is required for the use of a powered boat to fish or to transport catch or fishing gear to or from a land-based fishing location.

Western Australia – Indigenous (management methods). Subject to application of Section 211 of the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth), and the exemption from a requirement to hold a recreational fishing licence, the non-commercial take by Indigenous fishers is covered by the same arrangements as that for recreational fishing.

Commercial catch of Painted Sweetlip - note confidential catch not shown.

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