MSC-Risk-Based Framework Status

<60: Fail – High Risk

The bastard trumpeter fishery scored < 60 in the MSC-RBF analysis, failing assessment with high risk of stock damage. The Productivity Susceptibility Analysis indicated bastard trumpeter has low productivity – slow to mature and relatively long-lived, with low fecundity. The stock showed high susceptibility to capture and damage by the fishery. The Tasmanian bastard trumpeter fishery is based almost entirely on juvenile fish, caught inshore using gillnets where they inhabit shallow reefs until 4 – 5 years old before moving offshore into deeper waters (< 160 m). In addition, fishing effort overlaps with > 30% of stock distribution. The Consequence Analysis indicated bastard trumpeter is a fully exploited species in Tasmania, with fail scores in every subcomponent of the assessment. A decline in CPUE culminating in a record low catch in 2018-19 suggests substantial stock and recruitment damage.

Productivity Attributes

Attribute	Score
Average age at maturity	2
Average maximum age	2
Fecundity	3
Average maximum size	1
Average size at maturity	2
Reproductive strategy	1
Trophic level	3

Susceptibility Attributes

Attribute	Score
Availability	3
Encounterability	3
Selectivity	3
Post-capture mortality	3

Consequence Analysis

Vulnerable Subcomponent(s)	Score
All	<60 – Fail