Results

Statewide Angler Diary Program 1997 -2003

Number of anglers, fishing trips and recorded captures

The number of anglers who returned fishing diaries increased from 16 in 1997/98 to 121 in 2002/03 (Table 1). The number of fish captures recorded (includes those kept and those released) and fish measured also increased over the six year study period. In the 2002/03 just over half of the 201 anglers that had joined the Fishing Diary Program for the fishing season returned catch diaries with 56 % of the reported fish captures also being measured.

Fishing trips by season

The majority of anglers contributing to the program made less than 20 trips per season. However, a few reported catches from over 90 trips in a season (Figure 1). The most active 20% of anglers accounted for about 50% of the fishing trips.

Fishing trips by water type

The number of fishing trips reported by anglers increased from 300 trips in 1997/98 to 2,300 trips in the 2002/03 season (Figure 2). The majority of fishing trips reported were undertaken in marine/estuarine waters.

Fishing effort by target species

The most preferred marine species targeted by anglers contributing to the program were snapper, King George whiting and black bream (Figure 3). Other less commonly targeted species included flathead (which included sand flathead and dusky flathead), sharks (including gummy, mako and blue sharks), Australian salmon and estuary perch. The most preferred freshwater species targeted by anglers were trout (both brown and rainbow), golden perch, Murray cod, redfin and Australian bass (Figure 4).

Snapper

The water body most preferred by anglers targeting snapper was Port Phillip Bay. Several anglers contributing to the fishing diary program also fished for snapper in Western Port and, in recent seasons, the central coastal waters off Torquay (Table 2).

Snapper in Port Phillip Bay

The annual number of fishing trips for snapper in Port Phillip Bay reported by anglers contributing to the diary program has steadily increased from 54 trips in 1997/1998 to a peak of over 300 trips in 2001/02 and 2002/03 (Table 3). Over the six-year reporting period, anglers recorded the capture of approximately 12,000 snapper, the majority of which were released.

Estimated mean total (kept and released) catch rates of snapper in Port Phillip Bay were higher in 1997/98 (4 fish per angler hour) than in subsequent years (1 to 3 fish per angler hour) (Figure 5). Mean retained catch rates of snapper were between 0.5 and 1.0 fish per hour over the study period (Figure 6). Under-size snapper were more commonly caught than legally sized fish, with mean release catch rates of 1 to 3 fish per angler hour (Figure 7). Catch rates of snapper subsequently released by anglers targeting King George whiting also indicated an abundance of under-size snapper in most years (Figure 8) In some years, released rates of under-size snapper were higher for anglers targeting King George whiting compared with those targeting snapper. The majority of measured catches included both the retained and released components of the snapper catch (Appendix 1.4 Table 12). The size distribution of retained and released snapper indicates a progression of four size groups/year classes into the Port Phillip Bay fishery from 1997/98 to1998/99, 1998/1999 to 2000/2001 and 2001/2002 to 2002/2003 (Figure 9). Anglers recorded few snapper above 35 cm FL, except in 2002/03 (Figure 10).

Snapper in Western Port

The annual number of fishing trips for snapper in Western Port reported by anglers contributing to the diary program remained steady at 50-80 trips from 9-12 anglers from 1998/99 to 2001/02 and then declined to 29 trips in 2003/03 (Table 4).

Estimated mean total (kept and released) catch rates of snapper in Western Port remained below 0.5 fish per angler hour from 1998/99 to 2001/02 then increased in 2002/03 to nearly 1.0 fish per angler hour but with wide confidence limits (Figure 11). Retained snapper catch rates were low throughout the study period (Figure 12). The 2002/03 season was the only season where under-size snapper appeared to be abundant in reported catches from anglers targeting snapper (Figure 13), and to a lesser extent from anglers targeting King George whiting (Figure 14). The majority of measured catches included both the retained and released components of the snapper catch (Appendix 1.4 Table 13). The size distribution of retained and released snapper suggests a stronger than average pre-recruit year-classes in 2002/03 (Figure 15), but the numbers of fish measured annually are low. Compared to Port Phillip Bay, the size range of snapper above the LML (about 25 cm FL) from Western Port was generally broader but the sample size was small.

King George Whiting

Port Phillip Bay and Western Port were the preferred regions fished by anglers contributing to the angler fishing diary program targeting King George whiting. Several contributing anglers also fished for King George whiting in coastal waters in the west of the State off Warrnambool and Portland and, in recent seasons, the central coastal waters off Torquay (Table 5).

King George whiting in Port Phillip Bay

The number of fishing trips by diary anglers targeting King George whiting in Port Phillip Bay fluctuated between 90 and 137 trips per season over the study period, despite a substantial increase in the number of contributing anglers (Table 6). Over the six-year reporting period, anglers recorded the capture of over 4,000 King George whiting, of which the majority were retained.

Estimated mean total (kept and released) catch rates of King George whiting from Port Phillip Bay declined from 1997/98 to 2001/02 then increased again in the 2002/03 season. (Figure 16). Mean retained catch rates of King George whiting showed a similar trend (Figure 17). Mean released rates of King George whiting were low throughout the study period (Figure 18). The majority of measured catches included both the retained and released components of the whiting catch (Appendix 1.5 Table 14). The size distribution of retained and released whiting showed no indications of distinct size groups or year classes (Figure 19). The majority of the King George whiting measured were above the LML (25 cm FL).

King George whiting in Western Port

The number of fishing trips by diary anglers targeting King George whiting in Western Port fluctuated between 124 and 211 trips per season over the study period, from a relatively constant number of contributing anglers (Table 7). Over the six-year reporting period, anglers recorded the capture of over 6,800 King George whiting, of which the majority was retained.

Estimated mean total (kept and released) catch rates of King George whiting from Western Port declined from 1997/98 to 2000/01 and remained at about 1 fish per hour for the 2001/02 and 2002/03 season (Figure 20). Mean retained catch rates of King George whiting showed a similar trend (Figure 21). Mean release rates of King George whiting were low throughout the study period (Figure 22). The majority of measured catches included both the retained and released components of the whiting catch (Appendix 1.5,Table 15). The size distribution of retained and released whiting showed no indications of distinct size groups or year classes (Figure 23) even taking into consideration signs of even number rounding of length measures. King George whiting caught and retained by anglers in Western Port were generally larger than those from Port Phillip Bay, with the majority of the size distribution being above 30 cm FL (Appendix 1.5, Table 20 and Table 21).

Black Bream

Anglers contributing to the Fishing Dairy Program fished for bream in many Victorian estuaries including the Gippsland Lakes, Hopkins River, Mallacoota Inlet and Lake Tyers (Table 8).
Black bream in the Gippsland Lakes

The number of angler hours reported by diary anglers targeting black bream in the Gippsland Lakes fluctuated between 448 and 570 angler hours from 1997/1998 to 2001/2002 then declined to just under 300 angler hours in 2003/02 (Table 9). The number of anglers contributing to the program increased from just one angler in 1997/98 to 11 anglers in 2002/03. Over the six-year reporting period, anglers recorded the capture of over 3,000 black bream, of which the majority were released.

Estimated mean total (retained and released) catch rates of bream from the Gippsland Lakes fluctuated between 0.7 and 1.6 fish per hour over the study period (Figure 24). Mean retained catch rates of remained below 0.5 fish per hour (Figure 25). Mean released rates declined steadily between 1997/98 and 2001/02 then increased in 2002/03, although the variation in this estimate is large (Figure 26). Almost all the measured catches included both the retained and released components of the bream catch (Appendix 1.4,Table 16). The size distribution of retained and released bream shows that a small proportion of the catch was above 30 cm fork length (Figure 27 and Appendix 1.5 Table 22).

Trout

The Goulburn River was the water body most fished for trout by anglers contributing to the Angler Fishing Dairy Program. In 2002/03, Lake Fyans and Lake Modewarre were also fished for trout by several anglers in the Program (Table 10).

Trout in the Goulburn River

The number of fishing trips reported by diary anglers targeting trout in the Goulburn River ranged from 15 trips from 2 anglers in 1998/99 to 113 trips from 12 anglers in 1999/00 (Table 11). In 2002/03, 60 trout fishing trips were reported from 4 anglers. Over the five-year reporting period, anglers recorded the capture of over 1,100 trout (including over 600 brown trout and over 500 rainbow trout).

Estimated mean total (kept and released) catch rates of trout (brown and rainbow) from the Goulburn River fluctuated between 0.5 and 1 fish per hour over the study period (Figure 28). Mean total catch rates of brown and rainbow trout were about 0.5 fish per hour or below (Figure 29 and Figure 30), although the variation in the estimates in some years was large. The majority of the measured catches included both the retained and released components of the trout catch (Appendix 1.4,Table 16). Because of the low numbers of fish caught, numbers of brown and rainbow trout were each pooled by year for analysis of size composition. The size distribution of measured trout catches indicated two size groups within both brown and rainbow catches (Figure 31 and Figure 32), with brown trout catches containing a higher proportion of fish above 30 cm FL (Appendix 1.5, Table 23 and Table 24).

Angler Attitudes Fishing motivation and satisfaction

The 198 anglers participating in the Angler Fishing Diary Program in the 2002/2003 season indicated that sport, relaxing, and being outdoors were the most important primary motivations for their fishing (Figure 33). About two thirds of the anglers participating fishing diary program indicated that they were satisfied (either very or quite satisfied) with the overall quality of the fishing in their nominated fishery in the 2003/2003 season (Figure 34). There was no difference in the proportion of satisfied anglers whether their primary fishing motivation was catch-related (sport, food, competitions.) or non catch-related (relaxing, outdoors, family etc.) (Figure 35).

The primary fishing motives of anglers who had nominated snapper and whiting as their main target species were equally spread between catch and non-catch related factors, while the majority of anglers who targeted bream and trout reported a majority of non-catch primary fishing motives. (Figure 36).

The level of satisfaction varied according to the anglers main target species with snapper and bream anglers having a higher proportion responses saying that they were satisfied with their fishery than whiting and trout anglers (Figure 37). The reported level of fishing satisfaction by anglers who nominated any one of the six case study fisheries as their fishery of interest was highest for the Port Phillip Bay and Western Port snapper fisheries. Lower levels of satisfaction were reported for the other fisheries (Figure 38).

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