Stock assessment report

The Snapper stock assessment provides updated information and assigns the status for each stock of Snapper in South Australia.

Background

Snapper stock assessment reports have been completed in SA every 2 to 3 years since 1997, with a total of 14 reports to date.

The datasets considered have increased in quantity through time. Early assessments primarily reported on trends in commercial MSF fishery statistics (catch and effort). They later developed to include:

• regional length and age structures – since 2000
• trends in 0+ recruitment in Northern Spencer Gulf – from 2000 to 2010
• ‘SnapEst’ model outputs – since 2003
• estimates of spawning biomass using the daily egg production method (DEPM) – since 2019.

Each stock is assessed against a series of biological and general fishery performance indicators. These determine the stock status following National Fishery Status Reporting Framework (Piddocke et al. 2021).

Objectives

This project aims to assess the status of each stock of Snapper in SA using a weight-of-evidence approach that is underpinned by the findings of the Snapper Science Program.

The next Snapper stock assessment report is due for delivery in November 2025 – see the program timeline.

This will inform future fishery management strategies, such as assessing current closures for the Spencer Gulf/West Coast stock and Gulf St Vincent stock.