MSC-RBF Status

<60: Fail – High Risk

The southern calamari fishery scored < 60 in the MSC-RBF analysis, failing assessment with high risk of stock damage. The Productivity Susceptibility Analysis indicated this species is moderately productive – a demersal egg layer with moderate fecundity and a short generation time. Southern calamari are highly susceptible to capture and damage by the fishery. Fishing effort overlaps with > 30% of stock distribution as well as the shallow depth range inhabited by adult and sub-adult southern calamari. Individuals become available to the fishery around 90 – 120 days old as they migrate from deeper water. The younger of these are not yet mature, therefore there is a high likelihood that some immature individuals are caught and retained. The Consequence Analysis showed a likely reduction in population size with a steeply declining trend in CPUE over time. The fishery targets spawning aggregations of southern calamari and recent data show reduced egg production. Thus, this is an over-exploited, recruitment-impaired species, and fishery activity represents a high risk to stock structure and recruitment dynamics.

Productivity Attributes

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

Susceptibility Attributes

Attribute	Score
Availability	3
Encounterability	3
Selectivity	2
Post-capture mortality	3

Consequence Analysis

Vulnerable Subcomponent(s)	Score
All	<60 – Fail