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Balancing conservation and recreational fishery objectives for a threatened fish species, the M urray cod, M accullochella peelii
Author(s) -
Koehn J. D.,
Todd C. R.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
fisheries management and ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.693
H-Index - 55
eISSN - 1365-2400
pISSN - 0969-997X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2400.2012.00856.x
Subject(s) - threatened species , stocking , fishery , fisheries management , population , habitat , range (aeronautics) , fish <actinopterygii> , overfishing , biology , geography , fishing , ecology , engineering , demography , sociology , aerospace engineering
Murray cod M accullochella peelii ( M itchell) is a large, iconic A ustralian fish species targeted by anglers but also listed as nationally threatened. A consultative process that included conservation and fishery interests helped to develop a population model for this species and agree on management scenarios to be tested. The modelled scenarios illustrated that threats to populations (risk of decline) can be substantially reduced and catch rates increased through harvest slot length limits ( HSLL ) rather than minimum legal limits ( MLL ). A 600‐ to 1000‐mm HSLL provided lower risk of decline and greater catch rates than the existing 500‐mm MLL , but better results were achieved with a 400‐ to 600‐mm HSLL . Importantly, a range of other impacts (fish kills, stocking, thermal impacts, larval mortalities, habitat changes) were recognised and incorporated. This study provides an example of the utility of a population model to improve management decision‐making for both conservation and fishery objectives.