Analyses to support the review of the Southern Squid Jig Fishery harvest strategy

Authors: Rocio Noriega, Mahdi Parsa, James Woodhams and Rupert Summerson 

Overview

This report supports the review of the Southern Squid Jig Fishery (SSJF) harvest strategy and provides a description of the available data and recommendations for future data collection that would enable more fulsome implementation of the harvest strategy through more robust catch per unit effort (CPUE) and depletion analyses.

The Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) will use the results to consider improvements to their SSJF data and monitoring strategy.

Key findings

This study found there is currently not sufficient data to calculate a reliable standardised CPUE series to support undertaking a depletion analysis as required by the fishery’s harvest strategy, once catch and effort triggers are reached.

This report provides a range of recommendations to improve data, which if adopted will increase the likelihood that the harvest strategy can be implemented in the future.