Southern Garfish
Hyporhamphus melanochir
2020/21 Southern Garfish Status (Released Dec 22)
| Stock Status | DEPLETED | ||
| Summary | Both catch and effort data for Southern Garfish showed an overall declining trend in recent years. CPUE has fluctuated substantially but shows a recently reversing trend back to higher levels. However, given the schooling nature of the species, CPUE is unlikely to be a reliable proxy of biomass. Data-limited stock assessment methods suggest that recovery of the population under current levels of catch is theoretically possible, but empirical evidence of recovery is lacking. | ||
| Importance | Key | ||
| Stock | Tasmanian Scalefish Fishery | ||
| Indicator(s) | Catch, effort and CPUE trends; changes in size/age composition | ||
| Managing Jurisdiction | State (Tasmania) | ||
Background
Southern Garfish is endemic to southern Australia and inhabits shallow (≤20 m) inshore waters in association with seagrass beds (Gomon et al. 2008). Southern Garfish is a schooling species, feeding near the surface at night. Beach seine fishing in the northeast and around Flinders Island has landed the highest catches of Southern Garfish since the mid-1990s. Dip net fishing on the southeast and east coasts was important in the late 1990s and early 2000s but this has since declined. Following the introduction of dip-nets, catches have also increasingly been taken over the summer months. Currently, Garfish on the northeast coast are caught mostly by beach seine while on the southeast and east coasts they are caught mainly by dip-nets.
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