Fisheries Victoria
'A fortnightly round-up of recreational fisheries management issues'
Fish-e-Fax Issue 188, 1 February 2007
Dusky flathead and Gippsland Lakes bream regulation extension
Interim regulations for dusky flathead and Gippsland Lakes bream have been extended for a further twelve months (to 17 December 2007).
DPI Fisheries researchers monitoring the survival of undersized bream.
The daily bag/possession limit for dusky flathead is 5 per person, of which no more than 1 fish may exceed 60cm. The minimum legal size limit for dusky flathead is 25cm.
The minimum legal length of bream in the Gippsland Lakes and its tributaries is 28cm for both commercial and recreational bream fishing. The daily bag/possession limit for bream is 10 fish per person.
For further information about the interim restrictions or to obtain a copy of our information posters describing the regulation extensions please call the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) Customer Service Centre on 136 186.
Good survival rates of undersize black bream
A study looking at the survival rates of small black bream after release from commercial nets in the Gippsland Lakes has found that only three percent of the discarded fish perish.
The study was funded by Fisheries Victoria and involved scientists and Fisheries Officers attending commercial fishing trips and assessing the condition, size and numbers of black bream hauled in by mesh nets. They also looked at the number of undersize fish that were discarded. A number of the released fish were then collected and placed in holding tanks for three days of monitoring before they were returned to the Lakes.
Results showed that 70 percent of the catch was legal size and kept with 30 percent being released. Of those that were released, only 3 percent did not survive. This finding is comparable to survival rates of bream released by recreational anglers.
Black bream are considered one of the top angling species in the Gippsland Lakes system. Licensed commercial fishers use mesh nets and seine nets to capture bream for sale to the public. Recreational anglers have traditionally recorded good catches from riverbanks, jetties and boats.
A decline in commercial and recreational catch numbers in recent years prompted a review of the size limit to relieve fishing pressure on the fishery.
An increase in the minimum legal length from 26cm to 28cm for black bream in the Gippsland Lakes is an effective tool for Fisheries Managers as it is now known that most of the undersize fish that are released by both recreational and commercial anglers will survive release.
Abalone disease information page
DPI has recently designed an information page that is publicly available for interested parties on the DPI website .
The information page describes the background to the outbreak of the disease, its impact, the management action undertaken by DPI and industry in both the wild stocks and aquaculture farms, biosecurity protocols and scientific reports undertaken.
Urban river fish and eel warning
A report on contaminant levels in fish from the Yarra/Maribyrnong estuary, and whether they are safe to eat, has been released by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Following a pilot project in 2005, a more detailed study was undertaken by the EPA with support from Melbourne Water, Port of Melbourne Corporation and the Department of Human Services (DHS) to determine contaminant levels in eels and fish. Qualified individuals from academia and Government were invited to join an expert panel, which has now reported to the EPA on public health risks arising from the results of the study. The EPA has incorporated this advice in their report and DHS has consequently issued an advisory warning to limit the consumption of fish taken from the Yarra/Maribyrnong estuary.
The contaminants of greatest concern are polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and dioxins – both known to pose health risks at significantly higher concentrations than reported during the current study. To further minimise the health risks to recreational fishers, DHS has extended an earlier advisory warning (limiting eel consumption to one serve per month) to also limit consumption of any fish caught from these rivers to four serves per month (children up to age 15 and pregnant women are advised to eat one serve of fish per month, and avoid eating eels).
Further information can be obtained from the EPA (external link).
Stocking update
The following waters were stocked by Fisheries Victoria during the month of December, 2006.
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