Fish Stock Assessments
The VFA manages over 90 wild fish stocks harvested for both recreational and commercial purposes. Stock assessments play a critical role in sustainable fisheries management, providing valuable information for fisheries managers and policymakers assisting in guiding decisions, setting priorities, and developing policies to ensure healthy, productive fisheries for future generations.
The VFA uses several key factors to assess fishery stock status:
- Biomass Status: Measured using catch per unit effort (CPUE) as an indicator.
- Fishing Pressure: Assessed through total catch and fishing effort.
- Fishing Mortality: Inferred from length composition data.
- Recruitment: Monitored through fishery-independent sampling of pre-recruits (e.g., larvae samples).
Data sources used for these assessments include:
- Commercial catch and effort data, along with length compositions collected by industry and/or the VFA.
- Creel surveys of recreational fishers, gathering data on catch, effort, and size/length compositions.
- The Angler Diary Program, where volunteer anglers provide structured data on catch, effort, and length composition.
- Annual fishery-independent pre-recruit (young-of-year) surveys.
Using this data, fisheries scientists apply analysis and modelling to identify trends and assess fishery health. They also consider external factors—such as habitat, climate, and ecosystem changes—to determine the causes of any observed shifts in fish populations.
The VFA’s stock assessment reviews date back to 1978-79, allowing scientists to compare current population trends with historical data, offering a comprehensive view of fishery health.
The final outputs of the annual stock assessment can:
- Evaluate the stock's current status and long-term sustainability.
- Predict how the stock will react to various management approaches.
- Demonstrate the potential impact of changes in fishing pressure on the stock.
- Support management decisions through harvest strategies and collaboration with working groups.
Stock assessments also feed into national (Status of Australian Fish Stocks) and international (United Nations Sustainability Goals) reporting schemes.
To view all Status of Australian Fish Stocks (SAFS) reports, visit www.fish.gov.au.
The most recent version of the Review of Victorian Stocks, where you can view 35 fish stocks, including stock status, method and results:
A selection of the 35 fish stock reviews are available here: