Stocks of Tasmania's favourite recreational fish, the sand flathead, are suffering from serious decline around the state. Sand flathead accounts for
almost 70 per cent of all recreationally caught finfish in Tasmania.
Through the Flathead for the Future program, the Government is working with fishers, researchers and the community to put sand flathead on the path to recovery.
Learn what we're doing:
Where we are currently
The annual IMAS Scalefish Fishery assessment has identified heavy recreational fishing pressure as the primary cause of sand flathead decline.
Heavy fishing pressure has impacted the sand flathead fishery in a number of ways:
-
Numbers of
legal-size flathead are low.
- The
average size of a flathead is
getting smaller.
- Most flathead are
caught within a year of reaching legal size in heavily fished areas.
- Large
breeding females are depleted in most areas.
- Fishing is removing
faster-growing fish, leaving more genetically stunted flathead to breed.
Sand flathead fishery biomass (the weight of all the fish in
the stock) is down to 17% of what it would be in an unfished fishery in some heavily fished areas. This is below the internationally
recognised level of 20% where urgent management
action is required.
Putting sand flathead on the path to recovery
We need to significantly reduce how much sand flathead we catch.
Rule changes through the Scalefish Rules Review were an
important step in reducing catch, but the everyday choices and stewardship of the recreational fishing community are also critical for recovering sand flathead.
Find out some of the simple steps you can take on your next fishing trip to help get this iconic species back on its feet.
Research findings will inform a sand flathead
harvest strategy, which NRE Tas will develop
with fishers, researchers and other stakeholders. The harvest strategy will provide a management framework to achieve stock recovery and maintain a sustainable fishery so future generations of Tasmanians can continue to enjoy catching sand
flathead.