Snapper management

[Jamie Crawford] There are a number of things that fishers can do to optimise the survival of released Snapper.

Firstly, fishing for Snapper in shallow water is the best option to reduce barotrauma and improve survival.

[Courtney Cheesman] When landing and handling a fish intended for release, it is considered best practice to be prepared before the fish is hooked by having the necessary tools and equipment readily available, such as a landing net, wet towel and pliers.

Reducing handling time and air exposure will optimise the probability of survival.

It is also recommended to use a knotless or silicon landing net to support the weight of the fish when bringing it to the vessel and placing the fish onto a cool, wet surface and handling with wet hands or gloves to minimise the removal of protective mucus.

[Jamie Crawford] By making small changes to the way that we handle and release Snapper, we can all optimise their probability of survival when released and contribute to the recovery of this iconic fish species.

PIRSA continues to progress work for developing:

• a Snapper Rebuilding Plan as part of new harvest strategies for the shared-access Marine Scalefish Fishery
• Snapper bycatch and discards reporting
• an external review of the Snapper stock assessment model.

The $5 million Snapper Science Program is equally funded by the Government of South Australia and the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC). It involves:

• refining the Daily Egg Production Method (DEPM), and trialling and integrating acoustic surveys for improved estimates of fishable biomass
• studying stock discrimination and populations on the West Coast to determine the connectivity of the Spencer Gulf, West Coast stock
• continuing recruitment surveys to develop a cost-effective method of monitoring juvenile Snapper numbers that enter the SA population each year, and understand the variability
• adult sampling, including collecting genetic material for future close-kin mark-recapture study
• developing recreational fishing reporting abilities for timely monitoring of recreational catches
• aquatic habitat restoration projects
• enhancing the Snapper stock assessment model to include forecasting and management evaluation capability, which assists in designing recovery strategies.

The Government of South Australia is providing $1.2 million over 2 years for further Snapper stock enhancement in Spencer Gulf and the Gulf St Vincent. Nearly 1 million Snapper fingerlings will be produced and released across the gulfs.

During the 2019–22 closure period, Snapper restocking was undertaken, with 380,000 fingerlings released into each gulf in 2021, and Spencer Gulf in 2022.

The Government of South Australia has invested $200,000 for reef restoration and will work closely with RecFish SA on these projects for recreational fishers.

The Government of South Australia has partnered with the FRDC on the following projects.

Post-release survival and movement research

Project objectives:

• understand the impacts of barotrauma on the survival of line-caught Snapper
• estimate the survival rates of Snapper at various depths using electronic tags
• improve the understanding of Snapper movement patterns through the analysis of existing tagging datasets
• engage with key fishing sectors to develop a Code of Practice that promotes responsible fish handling practices, humane-treatment, and harm minimisation for Snapper.

Recruitment variability

Project objectives:

• improve understanding of the ecology of Snapper larvae and juvenile Snapper
• develop an understanding of the processes that regulate recruitment for Snapper, including annual variation in environmental factors
• develop a sampling protocol to monitor the relative abundance of juvenile Snapper that can be used as an index of recruitment
• undertake recruitment surveys in 2022 and 2023.