Painted Sweetlips (2023)
Diagramma pictum
Date Published: June 2023
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Summary
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
Stock Status Overview
Jurisdiction | Stock | Stock status | Indicators |
---|---|---|---|
New South Wales | New South Wales | Negligible |
Stock Structure
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.
Stock Status
New South Wales
Stock status for the New South Wales stock is reported as Negligible due to historically low catches in this jurisdiction and the stock has generally not been subject to targeted fishing. The New South Wales commercial catch during 2017–18 to 2021–22 averaged less than 3 t per year, and Sweetlips are not a major component of recreational landings. Fishing is unlikely to be having a negative impact on the stock.
Biology
[Loubens 1980; Grandcourt et al. 2011]
Species | Longevity / Maximum Size | Maturity (50 per cent) |
---|---|---|
Painted Sweetlips | 31 years; 58 cm SL |
Maturity (50 per cent) Males: 26.7 cm, 0.5 years; Females: 35.7 cm, 2.9 years |
Tables
New South Wales | |
---|---|
Commercial | |
Hook and Line | |
Various | |
Fish Trap |
New South Wales | |
---|---|
Commercial | 630.14kg |
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.
Catch Chart
Commercial catch of Painted Sweetlip - note confidential catch not shown.
References
- Allen, GR 2018, Filed guide to marine fishes of tropical Australia and South-east Asia. Western Australia Museum.
- Damadi, E, Moghaddam, FY, Ghanbarifard, M 2023, Species delimitation, molecular phylogeny and historical biogeography of the sweetlips fish (Perciformes, Haemulidae). Zoosystematics and Evolution 99: 135-147.
- Damadi, E, Moghaddam, FY, Ghanbarifard, M 2023, Species delimitation, molecular phylogeny and historical biogeography of the sweetlips fish (Perciformes, Haemulidae). Zoosystematics and Evolution 99: 135-147.
- Grandcourt, EM, Al Abdessalaam, TZ, Al Shamsi, AT and Francis, F 2006, Biology and assessment of the painted sweetlips (Diagramma pictum (Thunberg, 1792)) and spangled emperor (Lethrinus nebulosus (Forsskal, 1775)) in the southern Arabian Gulf. Fishery Bulletin 104: 75-88. Fishery Bulletin 104, 75–88.
- Grandcourt, EM, Al Abdessalaam, TZ, Francis, F, and Al Shamsi, AT 2011, Reproductive biology and implications for management of the painted sweetlips Diagramma pictum in the southern Arabian Gulf. Journal of Fish Biology 79: 615-632.
- Johnson JW, Randall JE, Chenoweth SF 2001, Diagramma melanacrum new species of haemulid fish from Indonesia Borneo and the Philippines with a generic review. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 46: 657–676.
- Knuckey, IA & Koopman, M 2022, Survey of tropical snapper in Northern Territory fisheries - 2021, Fishwell Consulting.
- Leigh, GM and O'Neill, MF, 2016, Gulf of Carpentaria Finfish Trawl Fishery: Maximum Sustainable Yield, Agri-Science Queensland, Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, Queensland.
- Loubens, G 1980, Biologie de quelques espèces de Poissons du lagon néo calédonien. II. Sexualité et reproduction. Cahiers de l’Indo-pacifique: 41-72.
- Newman, SJ, Brown, JI, Fairclough, DV, Wise, BS, Bellchambers, LM, Molony, BW, Lenanton, RCJ, Jackson, G, Smith, KA, Gaughan, DJ, Fletcher, WJ, McAuley, RB and Wakefield, CB 2018, A risk assessment and prioritisation approach to the selection of indicator species for the assessment of multi-species, multi-gear, multi-sector fishery resources. Marine Policy, 88: 11–22.
- QDAF 2020, Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, 2020, Reef line fishery harvest strategy: 2020-2025, Brisbane, Queensland.
- QDAF 2020, Submission for the assessment of the Queensland Gulf of Carpentaria Developmental Fin Fish Trawl Fishery Wildlife Trade Operation approval under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, Department if Agriculture and Fisheries, Fishwell Consulting, Queensland.
- Randall JE, Allen GR, Steene RC 1997, Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. University of Hawaii Press, 594 pp.
- Ryan KL, Lai EKM, 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.
- Tavera J, Acero A, Wainwright PC 2018 Multilocus phylogeny, divergence times, and a major role for the benthic-to-pelagic axis in the diversification of grunts (Haemulidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 121: 212–223.
- Wakefield, C, Trinnie, F, Skepper, C, Boddington, Newman, SJ, and Steele, A 2023, North Coast Demersal Resource Status Report 2022. pp. 167–176. In: Gaughan, D.J. and Santoro, K. (eds.). 2023. Status Reports of the Fisheries and Aquatic Resources of Western Australia 2021/22: The State of the Fisheries. Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Western Australia, Perth, Australia.
Downloadable reports
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