Stock assessment of coral trout shows fishery in good health

July 17, 2020

THE latest stock assessment of common coral trout (plectromous leopardus) has estimated the spawning biomass of the population to be 59 percent.

Biomass estimates are used to determine the status of the stock of coral trout and also the level of fishing required to enable stocks to reach the Sustainable Fisheries Strategy target of 60 percent unfished spawning biomass.

The current stock of coral trout is very good and we are not proposing any changes to fishing rules.

The spawning biomass is the total weight of fish that have reached sexual maturity and are capable of reproducing.

The stock assessment uses a mathematical model to estimate the biomass, based on data from commercial logbooks, statewide recreational fishing surveys, biological data from Fisheries Queensland and James Cook University, as well as estimates from The Australian Institute of Marine Science’s underwater visual surveys.

See the report here: http://era.daf.qld.gov.au/id/eprint/7426/

Biomass estimates are used to determine the status of coral trout and also the level of fishing required to enable them to reach the Sustainable Fisheries Strategy target of 60 percent unfished spawning biomass.

Biomass estimates are used to determine the status of coral trout and also the level of fishing required to enable stocks to reach the Sustainable Fisheries Strategy target of 60 percent unfished spawning biomass.