Spotted mackerel monitoring program update

Spotted mackerel (Scomberomorus munroi) is an important species for fishers throughout Queensland's coastal waters. The species is also a component of the commercial inshore fin fish fishery, in which it is targeted by line fishers and caught as bycatch by net fishers.

In 2004, following significant changes to the management arrangements for spotted mackerel on Queensland's east coast, the species was added to the Fisheries Queensland routine biological monitoring program. The monitoring program collects data each year on a range of recreational and commercial fish species. The biological information includes length, sex and age of fish being caught.

How is the data used?

The biological information collected through the routine monitoring program is combined with other available information such as commercial catch and effort from compulsory logbooks and the recreational catch and effort from periodic phone and diary surveys. This combined information is then used to carry out regular assessments of the status of spotted mackerel stocks and evaluate the performance of management arrangements for the fishery.

How are they monitored?

Monitoring of spotted mackerel relies on community involvement, through the voluntary participation of the recreational and commercial fishing industries.

The sampling for spotted mackerel is carried out along Queensland´s east coast, between Cairns and the New South Wales border. Due to the migratory behaviour of the species, most information on spotted mackerel is collected in northern Queensland during winter and spring, and in southern Queensland during summer and autumn.

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