Data Restrictions and Quality Control
There have been a number of administrative changes that have affected the collection of catch and effort data from the fishery. The following restrictions and adjustments have been applied when analysing the data as an attempt to ensure comparability between years, especially when examining trends over time.
Tasmanian logbook data
i) Correction of old logbook landed catch weights
Prior to 1995, catch returns were reported as monthly summaries of landings. With the introduction of a revised logbook in 1995, catch and effort was recorded on a daily basis for each method used. Since catch data reported in the old general fishing return represent landed catch, it has been assumed to represent processed weights. For example, where a fish is gilled and gutted, the reported landed weight will be the gilled and gutted and not the whole weight. In contrast, in the revised logbook all catches are reported in terms of weight and product form (whole, gilled and gutted, trunk, fillet, bait or live). If the catch of a species is reported as gilled and gutted, then the equivalent whole weight can be estimated based on a conversion factor. Conversion factors to whole weights are 1.00 for whole, live or bait; 2.50 for fillet; 1.50 for trunk; and 1.18 for gilled and gutted.
Without correcting for product form, old logbook and revised logbook catch weights are not strictly compatible. In an attempt to correct for this issue and provide a ‘best estimate’, a correction factor was calculated using catch data from the revised logbook and applied to catches reported in the old logbook. A species-based ratio of the sum of estimated whole weights (adjusted for product form) to the sum of reported catch weights was used as the correction factor (Lennon 1998).
ii) Effort Problems
Records of effort (based on gear units, Table 2.1) of zero or null, or appearing to be recorded incorrectly (implausible), were flagged. While catch can then still be included in catch summaries, such records need to be excluded from calculations of gear unit effort and associated catch rate calculations. However, all records of effort can be considered in calculating daily catch rates.
iii) Vessel restrictions
In all analyses of catch and effort, catches from six vessels (four Victorian based and two Tasmanian based) have been excluded. These vessels were known to have fished consistently in Commonwealth waters and their catches of species, such as Blue Warehou and Ling tended to significantly distort catch trends. In fact, all four Victorian vessels and one of the Tasmanian vessels ceased reporting on the General Fishing Returns in 1994. With the introduction of the South East Fishery Non-Trawl logbook (GN01) in 1997, the remaining Tasmanian vessel ceased reporting fishing activity in the Tasmanian logbook.
Commonwealth logbook data:
Commonwealth logbook data from Australian Fisheries Management Authority was included in the analyses so that the assessment reflected all catches from Tasmanian waters.
(i) Area restrictions
Commonwealth logbook records were only included if the catch was taken in fishing blocks adjacent to Tasmania and the maximum depth of the fishing operation was less than 200 m. These conditions were applied to all records except where Striped or Bastard Trumpeter were caught. All records that included catches of these species were included for analysis, because these species are managed under Tasmanian jurisdiction in all waters adjacent to Tasmania.
Fishing blocks adjacent to land and used in the analyses (refer Fig. A1) include:
3C2, 3D1, 3F1, 3F2, 3G1, 3G2, 3C4, 3D3, 3F4, 3G3, 3G4, 3H3, 3H4, 4C2, 4D1, 4D2, 4E1, 4G2, 4H1, 4H2, 4D4, 4E3, 4E4, 4F4, 4G3, 4G4, 4H3, 4H4, 5D2, 5E2, 5F1, 5F2, 5H1, 5D4, 5E3, 5H3, 6E1, 6H1, 6E3, 6G4, 6H3, 7E1, 7E2, 7G1, 7G2, 7H1, 7E4, 7F3, 7F4, 7G3.
