State-wide Angler Diary Program 1997-2003
No. 15 - August 2004
Simon Conron and Natalie Bridge
Fisheries Victoria Research Report Series No. 15
Executive Summary
An angler fishing diary program was conducted in Victoria from 1997 to 2003. The principal objective of the program was to provide a time-series of catch data that could be used as an indicator of the status of fish stocks. Participating anglers were asked to record catch details in a fishing diary. By 2003, the number of anglers contributing fishing diaries had grown to 120. A time-series of catch rates and size composition information was generated for four key species of interest to Fisheries Victoria. Catch data for under-size snapper in Port Phillip Bay indicated that the fishery had recently benefited from, and is likely to continue to benefit from, the recruitment of several stronger year-classes. In contrast, under-size snapper in Western Port were only reported in high abundance in angler catches in one of five years. King George whiting catches showed a declining trend in abundance for fish above the Legal Minimum Length (LML) in both Port Phillip Bay and Western Port. In 2002/03, retained whiting catch rates improved for anglers fishing in Port Phillip Bay, but not in Western Port. Under-size whiting appeared not to be vulnerable to the fishing gear used by whiting anglers, and therefore the catch rate of under-size whiting is not a good indicator of future recruitment to the fishery. A declining trend in black bream release rates in the Gippsland Lakes from 1997/98 to 2001/02, followed by a decline in retained catch rates since 2000/2001 is consistent with a gap of several years since the last abundant bream year-class. Higher release rates and the size compositions of catches reported by anglers in 2002/03 indicate a slight increase in abundance of under-size bream. Reported catch data from the Goulburn River showed no clear trend in abundance of brown and rainbow trout which was partly due to the low number fishing trips reported. Trends in catch data from the species studied showed the potential for the Angler Fishing Diary Program to provide performance indicators for fish stocks both above and below the LML.
Angler satisfaction levels in 2002/03 for the case study species correlated with the reported catch rates (ie the higher the catch rate the more satisfied the anglers were).
Limitations to the use of fishing diary data are considered. The more anglers reporting on a particular fishery, the less likely that the catches of any one angler will affect the results. The accuracy of advice on the status of fish stocks is likely to improve if it is based on catch data obtained from larger numbers of anglers.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Project Design and Methods
Catch details recorded
Selection of anglers
Data Analysis
Number of anglers, fishing trips and recorded captures
Fishing trips by season
Fishing trips by water type
Fishing effort by target species
Snapper
Snapper in Port Phillip Bay
Snapper in Western Port
King George Whiting
King George whiting in Port Phillip Bay
King George whiting in Western Port
Black Bream
Black bream in the Gippsland Lakes
Trout
Trout in the Goulburn River
Angler Attitudes
Fishing motivation and satisfaction
Table 1. Summary of fishing trips and catch details reported by anglers contributing to the Fishing Diary Program (1997-2003).
Table 2. Number of angler hours targeted at snapper by season and region reported by anglers contributing to the Angler Fishing Diary Program (1997-2003).
Table 3. Summary of fishing effort and snapper catches reported by anglers contributing to the Fishing Diary Program who targeted snapper in Port Phillip Bay (1997-2003).
Table 4. Summary of fishing effort and snapper catches reported by anglers contributing to the Fishing Diary Program who targeted snapper in Western Port (1997-2003).
Table 5. Number of angler hours targeting King George whiting, by season and fishing region, reported by anglers contributing to the Angler Fishing Diary Program (1997-2003).
Table 6. Summary of fishing effort and King George whiting catches reported by anglers contributing to the Fishing Diary Program who targeted King George whiting in Port Phillip Bay (1997-2003).
Table 7. Summary of fishing effort and King George whiting catches reported by anglers contributing to the Fishing Diary Program who targeted King George whiting in Western Port (1997-2003).
Table 8. Number of angler hours targeting black bream, by season and water body, reported by anglers contributing to the Angler Fishing Diary Program (1997-2003).
Table 9. Summary of fishing effort and black bream catches reported by anglers contributing to the Fishing Diary Program who targeted black bream in the Gippsland Lakes (1997-2003).
Table 10. Targeted trout fishing effort (angler hours) by season and water body for anglers contributing to fishing diary program (1997-2003).
Table 11. Summary of fishing effort and trout catches reported by anglers contributing to the Fishing Diary Program who targeted trout in the Goulburn River (1997-2003).
Figure 1. Percentage frequency distribution of the number of recorded fishing trips per season by anglers contributing to the Fishing Diary Program from 1997 to 2003 (n=number of anglers).
Figure 2. Reported fishing trips by water type for angles contributing to the Angler Fishing Diary Program (1997-2003).
Figure 3. Percentage frequency distribution of fishing trips by target species for marine/estuarine species targeted by anglers contributing to the Angler Fishing Diary Program from 1997 to 2003 (n=number of fishing trips).
Figure 4. Percentage frequency distribution of fishing trips by target species for freshwater species targeted by anglers contributing to the Angler Fishing Diary Program 1998 to 2003 (n=number of fishing trips).
Figure 5. Estimated mean total catch rate (± 2 s.e.) of snapper by anglers contributing to the Fishing Diary Program who targeted snapper in Port Phillip Bay (1997-2003).
Figure 6. Estimated mean retained catch rate (± 2 s.e.) of snapper by anglers contributing to the Fishing Diary Program who targeted snapper in Port Phillip Bay (1997-2003).
Figure 7. Estimated mean release rate (± 2 s.e.) of snapper by anglers contributing to the Fishing Diary Program who targeted snapper in Port Phillip Bay (1997-2003).
Figure 8. Estimated mean release rate (± 2 s.e.) of snapper by anglers contributing to the Fishing Diary Program who targeted King George whiting in Port Phillip Bay (1997-2003).
Figure 9. Size composition of all snapper caught (both retained and released) by anglers contributing to the Fishing Diary Program who fished in Port Phillip Bay from 1997 to 2003 (n=number of fish measured).
Figure 10. Size composition of snapper caught and retained by anglers contributing to the Fishing Diary Program who fished in Port Phillip Bay from 1998 to 2003 (n=number of fish measured).
Figure 11. Estimated mean total catch rate (± 2 s.e.) of snapper by anglers contributing to the Fishing Diary Program who targeted snapper in Western Port (1998-2003).
Figure 12. Estimated mean retained catch rate (± 2 s.e.) of snapper by anglers contributing to the Fishing Diary Program who targeted snapper in Western Port (1998-2003).
Figure 13. Estimated snapper release rate (± 2 s.e.) by anglers contributing to the Fishing Diary Program who targeted snapper in Western Port (1998-2003).
Figure 14. Estimated snapper release rate (± 2 s.e.) by anglers contributing to the Fishing Diary Program who targeted King George whiting in Western Port (1998-2003).
Figure 15. Size composition of all snapper caught (both retained and released) by anglers contributing to the Fishing Diary Program who fished in Western Port from 1998 to 2003 (n=number of fish measured).
Figure 16. Estimated mean total catch rate (± 2 s.e.) of King George whiting by anglers contributing to the Fishing Diary Program who targeted King George whiting in Port Phillip Bay (1997-2003).
Figure 17. Estimated mean retained catch rate (± 2 s.e.) of King George whiting by anglers contributing to the Fishing Diary Program who targeted King George whiting in Port Phillip Bay (1997-2003).
Figure 18. Estimated mean release catch rate (± 2 s.e.) of King George whiting by anglers contributing to the Fishing Diary Program who targeted King George whiting in Port Phillip Bay (1997-2003).
Figure 19. Size composition of all King George whiting caught (both retained and released) by anglers contributing to the Fishing Diary Program who fished in Port Phillip Bay from 1997 to 2003 (n=number of fish measured).
Figure 20. Estimated mean total catch rate (± 2 s.e.) of King George whiting by anglers targeting King George whiting in Western Port (1998-2003).
Figure 21. Estimated mean retained catch rate (± 2 s.e.) of King George whiting by anglers targeting King George whiting in Western Port (1998-2003).
Figure 22. Estimated mean release catch rate (± 2 s.e.) of King George whiting by anglers targeting King George whiting in Western Port (1998-2003).
Figure 23. Size composition of all King George whiting caught (both retained and released) by anglers contributing to the Fishing Diary Program who fished in Western Port from 1998 to 2003 (n=number of fish measure).
Figure 24. Estimated mean total catch rate (± 2 s.e.) of black bream by anglers contributing to the Fishing Diary Program who targeted bream in the Gippsland Lakes (1997-2003).
Figure 25. Estimated mean retained catch rate (± 2 s.e.) of black bream by anglers contributing to the Fishing Diary Program who targeted bream in the Gippsland Lakes (1997-2003).
Figure 26. Estimated mean release catch rate (± 2 s.e.) of black bream by anglers contributing to the Fishing Diary Program who targeted bream in the Gippsland Lakes (1997-2003).
Figure 27. Size composition of black bream, both retained and released, caught by anglers fishing in the Gippsland Lakes from 1997 to 2003 (n=number of fish measured).
Figure 28. Estimated mean total catch rate (± 2 s.e.) of trout (brown amd rainbow) by anglers contributing to the Fishing Diary Program who targeted trout in the Goulburn River (1998-2003).
Figure 29. Estimated mean total catch rate (± 2 s.e.) of brown trout by anglers contributing to the Fishing Diary Program who targeted trout in the Goulburn River (1998-2003).
Figure 30. Estimated mean total catch rate (± 2 s.e.) of rainbow trout by anglers contributing to the Fishing Diary Program who targeted trout in the Goulburn River (1998-2003).
Figure 31. Size composition of brown trout, both retained and released caught by anglers contributing to the Fishing Diary Program who fished in the Goulburn River from 1998 to 2003 (n=number of fish measured).
Figure 32. Size composition of rainbow trout, both retained and released, caught by anglers contributing to the Fishing Diary Program who fished in the Goulburn River from 1998 to 2003 (n=number of fish measured).
Figure 33. Primary motivation for recreational fishing indicated by anglers participating in the Angler Fishing Diary Program in the 2003/2003 season (n=198).
Figure 34. Level of satisfaction with recreational fishing for 2002/2003 season indicated by anglers participating in the angler diary program (n=197).
Figure 35. Summary of fishing satisfaction indicated by the primary fishing motive category (catch or non-catch related) of anglers participating in the Angler Fishing Diary Program in the 2003/2003 season (n=198).
Figure 36. Primary motivation for recreational fishing by target species indicated by anglers participating in the angler diary program inthe 2003/2003 season (n=198).
Figure 37. Level of satisfaction with recreational fishing for 2002/2003 season by target species as indicated by anglers participating in the angler diary program (n=197).
Figure 38. Level of satisfaction with recreational fishing for 2002/2003 season by target species as indicated by anglers who nominated the six key fisheries as their main fishery of interest.