Catch, Effort and CPUE
The 2020/21 commercial catch of King George Whiting in Tasmanian waters was 3.6 t (Figure below), which represents an increase from the previous year but which is still substantially lower than the most recent estimate of recreational catch – 7.2 t in 2017/18 (Lyle et al. 2019). Relative effort and CPUE have fluctuated over the duration of fishery records; however, both show generally increasing trends, with 2020/21 data indicating substantial increases from the previous year (Figure below). Commercial fishing activity for King George Whiting has been focused on the north coast – in the northwest and northeast, around Flinders Island. In 2020/21, fishing for this species only occurred around Flinders Island.
The full 2020/21 Scalefish Assessment, released Dec 2022, can be found at the link: