Catch, Effort and CPUE

Records of commercial Flounder catches peaked at almost 35 tonnes in 1995/96. Flounder landings have declined steadily since then, reaching an historical low of 1 t in 2015/16. Since the ban on night gillnetting in 2010, Flounder have been caught predominantly using spear. Commercial catches and effort have contracted spatially over recent years to Norfolk Bay, the Tamar estuary, and Macquarie Harbour, with catch in the southeast (e.g., Norfolk Bay) taken mostly by spear and catches on the west coast (e.g., Macquarie Harbour) taken mostly by gillnet.

Consistent with the trend in catches, effort for both spear and gillnet has been declining steadily since the mid-1990s. Total CPUE for both spear and gillnet generally increased over recent years but underlying regional dynamics are more variable.

Flounder are a relatively important recreational species, and in recent years, catches for the recreational sector have matched or exceeded those of the commercial sector. Similar to commercial catches, recreational catches appear to have declined progressively over recent years.