3 stars. Australian herring is a staple food for many WA, SA and VIC fishermen. A good food can be made from a handful of herring and their oily flesh is strong and fishy. Pangolfish: The legal size of the fish must be checked at the earliest opportunity. Fish that are not the required size should be released immediately. Measure the fish from the tip of the snout with the mouth closed to the tip of the tail. Australian herring is endemic to Australia and abundant in the coastal waters of the southern half of Australia, from Shark Bay in Western Australia to Port Phillip Bay in Victoria. They prefer coastal waters and estuaries as well as offshore islands. The distribution of herring is strongly influenced by the Leeuwinstrom, which flows south along the coast of Western Australia. When the current is strong, adult fish do not travel up the west coast to spawn, but their larvae spread further east along the South Australian coast. Australian herring is often confused with young Australian salmon, which belong to the same genus.

They differ from Australian salmon by their relatively larger yellow and blue eyes and rounded heads. Australian herring is silvery with coarsely textured scales, black tips on the tail and golden spots along the upper body. They are a shoal fish and a food source for many predators such as yellowtail king, mackerel, mullway, Australian salmon, seals, sea lions and seabirds. Herring is popular with recreational fishermen and is sold commercially as fresh fish at fish markets, as bait for rock lobster fishermen and as animal feed. Look at the first column below to see which species can be harvested safely. If there is information in the second column, it is illegal and dangerous to harvest mussel species in these areas. Victoria – Indians (management methods) A person who identifies as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander is exempt from the requirement to obtain a Victorian recreational fishing licence, provided they comply with all other rules that apply to recreational fishers, including equipment regulations, catch limits, size limits and restricted areas. Traditional (non-commercial) fishing activities conducted by members of a traditional ownership group under an agreement under Victoria`s Traditional Owner Settlement Act 2010 are also exempt from the requirement to hold a recreational fishing licence, subject to the conditions set out in the agreement. Holders of national titles are also exempt from the requirement to obtain a recreational fishing licence under the provisions of the Commonwealth Aboriginal Title Act 1993. Eating contaminated shellfish can be life-threatening.

Closures change frequently throughout the year. It is illegal to harvest shellfish in closed or contaminated areas. Ship your fish humanely and immediately after it is caught. Let your herring bleed and store it for up to a few hours in a bucket of cold water, in a damp bag of Hesse (or similar), ice or sun ice manure and cool it as soon as possible. In Western Australia, total herring catches have increased from about 1,500 tonnes (t) in 1990 to about 150 tonnes since 2015. This is mainly due to the reduction in expenses, which was implemented by a change of management. Recreational catches are not exactly known. Changes in recreational catches are not necessarily due to changes in fishing effort and mainly reflect changes in fish availability. Current recreational catches are believed to be of a similar magnitude to commercial catches. In 2015, the commercial herring net fishery on the south coast was closed and the daily catch limit for recreational fish was reduced from 30 to 12. These changes, combined with a reduced commercial orientation since 1990, have increased the biomass of the stock. Zone 19: Download a printable PDF version of this map.

In Victoria, Australian herring is harvested primarily using net methods, with most of the harvest historically coming from Port Phillip Bay with purse seines. Total commercial harvests of Australian herring in Victoria peaked in 2002 at about 32 tonnes [VFA, unpublished data]. More recently, annual catches have been much lower, at less than 200 kg, none of which came from the main historic fishery in Port Phillip Bay. This is a direct result of changes to the management of the commercial fishery in Port Phillip Bay, particularly the phase-out of commercial net fishing, and does not indicate changes in stock availability. Since 2016, 34 of the 43 licences have been purchased by the Victorian government. Commercial net fishing in Port Phillip Bay will cease by 2022 and has already ceased in Corio Bay. Australian herring catches are expected to be low and random in the future. Recreational consumption of Australian herring is unknown in Victoria, but is considered low as it is not a popular target species. The current mortality rate from Australian herring in Victoria is unlikely to affect stock recruitment. Ripens at the age of about 20cm and 2-3 years. They spawn each year from May to June on the lower west coast of Australia.

The currents then sweep the larvae and juveniles to Victoria. For each unlisted fish species, there is a catch limit of 5. Mackerel (all trachurus and scomber species except yellowtail scad) A written description of the areas can be found in the Pacific Fisheries Management Areas Regulations, 2007. Click on the links below to view reports from other years for this fish. The latest stock assessment is based on indicators derived from catches, age composition and length composition [Molony and Wise 2018]. Fishing catch rates (CPUEs) are considered unreliable indicators of stock abundance [Molony and Wise 2018, Smith et al. 2013]. Bivalve molluscs have 2 foldable shells. Because they feed by filtering microscopic plankton out of the water, changes in water quality can cause dangerous biotoxins, bacteria or marine viruses to build up in their tissues. Snails can also accumulate toxins and pollutants. Learn more about mussel harvesting. The current assessment for Western Australia shows that spawning biomass is above the reference limit (20% of unfished levels).

The stock is not considered impaired recruitment. The current mortality rate from Australian herring fishing in Western Australia is unlikely to affect stock recruitment. New South Wales – Recreation (capture) Murphy et al. (2020) Cod and Southern rock bear (red cod, brill cod, big-toothed bear, slender bear) Australian herring is a sustainable species with only one biological stock in South Australia. It is found from Shark Bay in Western Australia to Forster in New South Wales. Distribution of reported commercial catches of Australian herring Learn more about the ongoing restrictions in place: Australian herring is found in South Australia, from Shark Bay, Western Australia, to Forster, New South Wales, although it is unusual east of Bass Strait. It represents a single biological stock in this region [Ayvazian et al. 2004, Smith and Brown 2014].