Jackass Morwong
Nemadactylus macropterus
2020/21 Jackass Morwong Status (Released Dec 22)
| Stock Status | SUSTAINABLE | ||
| Summary | Jackass Morwong is a predominantly Commonwealth-managed species that has been classified as “Not overfished nor subject to overfishing” by ABARES in the Fishery Status Reports 2021 (Patterson et al. 2021). It has been classified as Sustainable in the 2020 Status of Australian Fish Stocks Report (Piddocke et al. 2021). Catch and effort reported by scalefish fishers in Tasmania have been low for the past 15 years. | ||
| Importance | Minor | ||
| Stock | Tasmanian Scalefish Fishery and Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery (Commonwealth) | ||
| Indicator(s) | Catch, effort and CPUE trends | ||
| Managing Jurisdiction | Commonwealth | ||
Background
Jackass Morwong is a large, long-lived species associated with exposed sand and silt habitat from central Queensland to southern Western Australia, including Tasmania (Edgar 2008). Abundance of Jackass Morwong is low in Tasmanian waters and, as such, the species is not targeted in Tasmania, but landed as by-product of gillnetting. Commonwealth assessments concluded that Jackass Morwong stocks were Overfished from 2008 to 2010, but stocks have since been classified as Sustainable (Patterson et al. 2021). There is a significant recreational fishery for Jackass Morwong in Tasmania, primarily targeting the species using gillnet gear.
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Social and Economic Indicators