Fisheries long term monitoring program : summary of tailor (Pomatomus saltatrix) survey results: 1999-2004

Abstract

Tailor (Pomatomus saltatrix) is a schooling species with a world-wide distribution in subtropical waters that inhabits the coastal waters of southern Australia (Williams 2002). Its distribution in Australian waters ranges from the northern tip of Fraser Island in Queensland to Onslow in Western Australia (Kailola et al. 1993).
Queensland commercial and recreational fishers target these schools on ocean beaches between Fraser Island and the New South Wales border, during their annual spawning migration between late winter and spring (Leigh and O’Neill 2004). The estimated harvest of tailor for the commercial sector is 155 t (2004–05), and between 450 and 540 t (2002) by recreational fishers.
The Queensland tailor fishery is managed by the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries under the Fisheries Regulation 1995. The current management arrangements include spatial and seasonal closures, minimum legal size limit, limited commercial entry, annual commercial quota and recreational possession limit.
The Long Term Monitoring Program (LTMP) monitors the tailor stock by investigating the length, weight, sex and age of the commercially and recreationally caught tailor from the ocean beach sector. This report presents a summary of the data collected from 1999 to 2004.
Since 1999, the LTMP has collected 14 486 tailor with over half of those fish collected from zones not included in the seasonal closures. The modal length frequency of tailor was between 300 and 370 mm for all years, sexes and regions. There was a significant relationship between length and weight of tailor, yet no difference between sex or region. The majority of tailor collected were aged as one and two year olds, with very few tailor collected of age three or older. The growth of tailor was similar for both sexes and all regions.
The majority of the length and age frequency data are representative of the recreational ocean beach fishery on Fraser Island, which is only part of the fishery. It is therefore suggested to extend the monitoring of the commercial catch samples and the recreational catch samples to other regions of the sampling area. There were also limited samples collected of tailor larger than 500 mm and at the age of three years or older. Any extension of the program should also focus on acquiring samples of larger fish to help complete the tailor growth curve.