Southern Sand Flathead
pinungana (Fish)
In palawa kani, the language of Tasmanian Aborigines, with thanks to the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre.
Platycephalus bassensis (Southern Sand Flathead)
2020/21 Southern Flathead Status (Released Dec 22)
| Stock Status | DEPLETED | ||
| Summary | Recreational catches dominate landings of Southern Sand Flathead in Tasmania. Fishery independent surveys suggest low abundances of legal sized fish in southeast and eastern Tasmania where populations are subject to heavy fishing pressure. While undersized fish appear to be abundant, newly introduced length-based assessment approaches indicate that female stock biomass is likely to be depleted in most regions. Moreover, current levels of fishing pressure are unlikely to be sustainable, specifically where stock rebuilding is likely to be most urgently needed. | ||
| Importance | Key | ||
| Stock | Tasmanian Scalefish Fishery | ||
| Indicator(s) | Catch, effort and CPUE trends | ||
| Managing Jurisdiction | State (Tasmania) | ||
Background
Southern Sand Flathead inhabit sheltered, shallow, coastal waters, typically over sand or silt (Edgar 2008). This is the most important species in the Tasmanian recreational fishery, with the most recent estimate of recreational harvest representing 98% of the total catch for that season (2017/18) (Lyle et al. 2019). Commercially, Southern Sand Flathead are caught primarily by handline, with some by-catch in the gillnet and Danish seine fisheries. The stock status for this species was classified as Depleting in the last two Scalefish Fishery stock assessments (Fraser et al. 2021).
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