❓ A parliamentary question seeks information on blue swimmer crab populations in the South West Trawl Managed Fishery, specifically regarding catch locations, depth, and potential for a deeper water fishery. The answer provides details on catch locations, ongoing research, and previous studies indicating limited offshore crab populations.
AnsweredQoN 2992Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
(1) I refer to page 18 of the ‘State of the Fisheries Report 2002/2003’ and ask where were the ‘4 t of blue swimmer crabs’ captured and from what depth of water?
(2) What assessment has been carried out to determine if a viable blue swimmer crab fishery occurs in water more than 400 metres from the shore in Geographe Bay and other parts of the South West Trawl Managed Fishery area?
(3) Is there anecdotal information to suggest that a deeper water blue swimmer crab fishery exists in the South West corner of Western Australia and, if yes, what information is known to departmental research or other staff?
(2) What assessment has been carried out to determine if a viable blue swimmer crab fishery occurs in water more than 400 metres from the shore in Geographe Bay and other parts of the South West Trawl Managed Fishery area?
(3) Is there anecdotal information to suggest that a deeper water blue swimmer crab fishery exists in the South West corner of Western Australia and, if yes, what information is known to departmental research or other staff?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
17 August 2004
Responded by
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
Response time
55 days
1. The South West Trawl Managed Fishery is divided into 4 zones (A-D). The majority of the 4 tonne caught in the fishery was landed in Zone D (Comet Bay off Mandurah). Fishermen are not required to report the precise depth of water from where the crabs were caught, but water depths within Comet Bay range between 6-12 m. 2. There is currently no fishery independent baseline information on the distribution and abundance of the in-shore and offshore blue swimmer crab stocks in this area. The lack of baseline data has been identified as a gap in the knowledge of blue swimmer crab stocks. The crab research section of the Department of Fisheries commenced a study at the beginning of 2004 to collect information on the depth and seasonal distribution and abundance by size of blue swimmer crabs in Geographe Bay. The project is due for completion in early 2005. Initial surveys have not indicated that there is any significant offshore stock. 3. An earlier study conducted by the Department of Fisheries researched the impact of trawling for saucer scallops and western king prawns on the benthic communities in coastal waters off south-western Australia. An additional objective of the study was to establish if large quantities of crustaceans, including blue swimmer crabs, could be caught in any of the regularly commercially fished grounds of the south-west inshore trawl fishery. Of the nine sites sampled, using a commercial scale otter trawl net, Comet Bay had the highest density of crabs (166/hectare). Only small numbers, between 0 and 5 crabs/ha, were collected at the eight other sites. The study concluded that significant numbers of blue swimmer crabs were not present in the waters off south-western Australia with the exception of Comet Bay. This previous study was primarily conducted within the area trawled by the South West Trawl Managed Fishery, which is restricted to waters more than 3 nautical miles from shore and does not interact with inner Geographe Bay crab stocks. The current blue swimmer crab study is designed to survey the seagrass areas between the shoreline areas and the SW trawl zone surveyed previously. At this stage no other information exists within the Department to indicate that there are significant off shore stocks of crabs in the southwest corner of Western Australia.
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