The Status of South Australian Fisheries Report covers marine, estuarine and freshwater fish, crustaceans and shellfish.The fish were selected due to their importance to the state’s commercial and recreational sectors.
Fisheries Minister Leon Bignell said the fishing industry supported more than 3000 jobs – mainly in the state’s regions.
“The state’s commercial fisheries process more than 44,000 tonnes of seafood for domestic and international markets each year, contributing more than $379 million to our economy,” Mr Bignell said.
“Recreational fishing is also a strong economic driver, with more than one in six South Australians and interstate and international visitors enjoying recreational fishing on our seas, rivers and estuaries each year.
“Our fish stocks are a precious resource but they are constantly changing because of environmental conditions, natural population fluctuations and fishing pressure.
“The State Government will continue to monitor stocks and work with all fishing sectors to ensure there is robust monitoring, assessment, management and compliance programs in place.”
The key points in the report are:
- 19 of the 45 species are sustainable
- 13 are depleting or recovering
- 12 undefined and
- one is overfished – the Port River Mud Cockle
The report is based on data collected from the fisheries, such as catch and effort data, biological and abundance data from fishery-independent surveys, and economic information for 2012-13 or the 2013 calendar year, depending on the seasonality of the fishery.
