Southern Calamari
Sepioteuthis australis (Southern Calamari, Southern Reef Squid)
2021/22 Southern Calamari Status (Released March 24)
| Stock Status | DEPLETING | ||
| Summary | Sharp regional increases and subsequent fluctuations in catch and effort in recent years suggest that fishing pressure on Southern Calamari is likely to be too high to be sustainable. Despite closures during part of the spawning season, many operators rely on targeting spawning aggregations, which presents a high risk of recruitment impairment. Aggregation fishing also means that data on catch and CPUE are unlikely to reflect trends in biomass and could be “hyperstable”. Data-poor stock assessment outcomes give further reason for concern that fishing mortality might have been excessive and that stocks on the south-east and east coast might be depleted or still recovering, while more recently targeted stocks on the north coast might be depleting. | ||
| Importance | Key | ||
| Stock | Tasmanian Scalefish Fishery | ||
| Indicator(s) | Catch and CPUE trends | ||
| Managing Jurisdiction | State (Tasmania) | ||
Background
Southern Calamari is endemic to Australia and northern New Zealand and inhabits shallow, inshore waters. Females deposit eggs in collective egg masses over several months (September to February), attaching capsules to the substrate (often seagrass) (Pecl 2004). Temporal fishery closures are in place to protect regional stocks during part of the spawning season, but fishers generally target spawning aggregations of Southern Calamari outside of these regional 1-month closure periods.
The full 2020/21 Scalefish Assessment, released Dec 2022, can be found at the link:
Learn more about what each stock status classification means on our Stock Status Classifications Information Page:
Social and Economic Indicators