Biology
Species | Seriolella brama |
Common Name | Blue Warehou |
Importance | Key |
Habitat | Inshore reefs/harbours and open water |
Depth | ≤ 400 m (Edgar, 2008; Tilzey, 1994) |
Distribution | New South Wales to South Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand (Edgar, 2008; Gomon et al., 2008) |
Diet | Invertebrates: mainly salps; also krill, crabs, squid (Gavrilov and Markina, 1979; Annala, 1994; Bulman et al., 2001) |
Stock Structure | Likely two stocks in southern Australian waters (east and west of Bass Strait), although not genetically confirmed (Gavrilov and Markina, 1979; Robinson et al. 2008). |
Movement | Schooling fish, highly mobile; small juveniles pelagic, commonly in association with jellyfish in open coastal waters; sub-adults often found in sheltered waters of large marine embayments. |
M (Natural Mortality) | 0.30 – 0.45 (Knuckey and Sivakumaran, 2001) |
Maximum Age (years) | 15 (AFMA, 2014) |
Maximum Length (total length; cm ) | 90 (Gomon et al., 2008) |
Maximum Weight (g) | 4000 (Gomon et al., 2008) |
Unsexed K (von Bertalanffy growth parameter) | 0.37 |
Unsexed t0 (age (years) when length = 0) | -0.67 |
Unsexed L∞ (asymptotic von Bertalanffy length (total length; cm)) | 54.65 |
Length (TL; total length (cm)) – Weight (W; g) Relationship | W =0.03L^2.9 (Frimodt, 1995) |
Size at Maturity (length (fork length; cm) at which 50% of population are sexually mature) | 36 |
Age at Maturity (age(years) at which 50% of population are sexually mature) | 3.67 (Knuckey and Sivakumaran, 2001) |
Spawning Season | Winter (major regional differences in magnitude and timing) |
Spawning Location | Central west and northwest coasts of Tasmania |
Batch Fecundity (F; number of eggs) to Fork Length (FL; cm) | ln(F)=2.614ln(FL)+2.366 (Knuckey and Sivakumaran, 2001) |
Early Life History | Larvae restricted to shelf and slope waters; larvae likely to be transported by Zeehan Current from spawning grounds of western Tasmania to southeastern Tasmania nursery areas; larvae settle to bottom at length > 14.5 mm total length (Bruce et al., 2001b; Neira et al., 1998) |
Gillnet Post Release Survival | Low: 35% but small legal minimum length so rarely discarded (Lyle et al., 2014) |