Fisheries Victoria
'A fortnightly round-up of recreational fisheries management issues'

Fish-Fax issue 175, 6th July 2006

Predicting King George Whiting stocks

Eight years of monitoring King George Whiting in Port Phillip Bay has resulted in some great news for whiting anglers. Conducted by Primary Industries Research Victoria (PIRVic), numerous survey sites were studied from August to November over the eight year period. The study found that recruitment in 2005 was the strongest recorded since the survey began in 1997. This means that in 3 to 4 years, anglers could expect to experience good recreational fishing of King George Whiting .

Findings from this study are consistent with past research, indicating what scientists believe to be a ten-year recruitment cycle for King George Whiting . Larval numbers peak in the middle of each decade, leading to good catches near the end of the decade. The last experienced peak in catch for the bay was in the 1998/1999 season.


Large numbers of yelloweye mullet visit Geelong's shores .

Thousands of yelloweye mullet were observed under the Royal Geelong Yacht Club pier last week. The impressively large school of fish were undertaking their annual migration to spawn on Australia's coastline. Mullet are usually observed in schools; however, groups this size is not a normal occurrence.

Mullet are one of the most abundant species in Victoria's bays and prefer habitats of muddy bottoms and depths of around 20 metres. They are primarily an estuarine species, having a broad salinity tolerance, being frequently found both in sea water and fresh water.

The schooling dynamics of fish has been researched in the past with some very interesting facts resulting from the studies, including:
• there is no leader or hierarchy in the group of fish,
• a change in direction is determined by individuals autonomously interacting with each other,
• schools reduce predation due to the intimidating effect the group has upon larger fish, and
• schooling fish will find food faster due to a greater search area covered by the group.


Enforcement news

Three men were recently convicted in the Frankston court for the possession of over twice the recreational legal limit of abalone. The men pleaded guilty to the offences including the use of commercial abalone equipment. They were fined $1000 in total.

Upon inspection, fisheries officers found the men and five other family members in the process of shucking the abalone and cooking them on a rock platform near Flinders on the Mornington Peninsula. At the time of the arrest, the group had already removed 48 of the 74 abalone from their shells.

Members of the public who observe any apparent illegal fishing activity in Victoria are reminded to call 13FISH (13 3474) at any time of day, seven days a week.


Murray cod - this is more like it

Large Murray cod are being caught in the northern rivers of the state. Anglers at sites such as Shepparton and Mildura have been catching fish of up to 28kg. Reports are that the fishing may be slow, but the quality of the cod is well worth the wait.

As part of Fisheries Victoria's Native Fish Stocking Program, 25,000 Murray cod were released into the Goulburn River near Shepparton earlier this year. The fish are stocked for recreational purposes to improve the opportunities for bait and fly fishers on Victorian waters.

Murray cod is one of the world's largest freshwater fish species, and has known to reach lengths of up to 1.8 metres and a record weight of 115.5 kg. Due to the size of the species, its value for sport fishing and taste, Murray cod is a highly valued recreational angling species. Anglers are reminded that the minimum size at which Murray cod can be taken is 50cm. The recreational daily bag limit is 2 (of which no more than one fish may be equal to exceed 75cm in length). There is also a closed season for Murray cod from 1 September to 30 November inclusive.

Water level update