Catch, Effort and CPUE

Bastard Trumpeter catches have been declining since the mid-1990s. Catch has been <10 t since 2010/11. Bastard Trumpeter in recent years have been taken almost exclusively by gillnet from inshore waters off the east, south, and west coasts. Bastard Trumpeter have been predominantly taken by recreational gillnet fishers in recent years, although the latest estimated catches in 2012/13 and 2017/18 were also historic lows (Lyle et al. 2014b; Lyle et al. 2019).

Commercial gillnet effort has followed a downward trend similar to catches since the mid 1990s. CPUE remained relatively stable between 2006/07 and 2014/15; however, an overall declining trend is evident since 2014/15. The west coast in particular has seen a notable declining trend in CPUE over the last decade.

Bastard Trumpeter are taken primarily as by-product rather than as a target species. The majority of gillnet effort is now targeting Banded Morwong with 140 mm mesh sizes, selecting only the largest Bastard Trumpeter. Previously, a larger proportion of fishers used smaller mesh sizes (<114 mm) to target Bastard Trumpeter and Blue Warehou.