Blacklip and Greenlip Abalone Recreational Catch Per Unit Effort (CPUE)
Regional catch rates varied between 1.3 and 5.7 abalone per day, the highest catch rates were in the west (Area 6) of the state in the 2020/21 season. The Eastern region daily bag limit of 5 abalone was achieved in about 40% all targeted dives, by contrast the Western Region bag limit of 10 abalone was achieved in just over 30% of dives. However, the sampling strategy was weighted towards respondents likely to fish off the east coast of Tasmania and thus data for the Western Region was limited and thus needs to be treated with caution.
The catch per unit effort (CPUE) as the average daily catch (catch per fishing day) in each of the assessment areas is given (number), while the proportion of catch attributed to each assessment area is coloured.
Based on the fishery in the Eastern Region, snorkel divers reported the highest average catch rate (3.3 abalone per day), took the bag limit of 5 abalone more frequently (49% of dives) than either of the other two dive method and accounted for a third of the total harvest. Average daily catch rates for hookah (3.0) were higher than for scuba divers (2.6), but the higher effort expended by hookah divers meant that the total catch taken by that method was marginally higher than that taken by snorkel divers (37%).
