Mulloway Stock Assessment

Report 2013/14SUMMARY PRESENTATION

Fish assemblages in the Coorong

A/Prof Qifeng Ye, SARDI Aquatic Sciences

Luciana Bucater, David Short and Neil Wellman

Chris Bice, Brenton Zampatti and Jason Earl

Black bream

Greenback flounder

Yelloweye mullet

Sandy sprat

Smallmouthed hardyhead

Mulloway

Coorong

fishes

Lamprey

Congolli

Fishes and Estuaries

Fre

sh

wa

ter

Adapted from Whitfield 1999

Dia

dro

mo

us

Es

tua

rin

eM

ari

ne

Dynamic estuarine –

lagoonal system

• Flow

• Connectivity

Salinity

Productivity

Annual barrage flow

Drought

Flood/flow

Australian salmon

Australian herring Australian anchovy

King george whiting

Kelpfish

Toad fish2007–2010(drought)

‘Marine stragglers’

Distribution

E

NL

SL

Drought Period

Recruitment/Abundance

2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14

Abu

nd

an

ce (

fish.h

our-1

)

0.0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.0

2.04.06.08.0

10.012.014.016.0

Dis

charg

e (

GL.m

on

th-1

)

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

Data: Bice & Zampatti

Bony herring

Australian smelt

Sandy sprat

Lagoon goby

Congolli

Pouched lamprey

‘Freshwater’ ‘Diadromous’

‘Estuarine’

‘Marine migrant’

2010–2013 (flow)

Mulloway

Distribution

E

NL

SL

2010–2013 (flow)

Recruitment/Abundance

Data: Bice & Zampatti

2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14

Ab

un

da

nce

(fish

.ho

ur-1

)

0.0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.0

2.04.06.08.0

10.012.014.016.0

Dis

ch

arg

e (

GL

.mo

nth

-1)

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

Mulloway production – Coorong estuary

Research sampling (multi-panel gill nets)

SO

M

LM

S

Summary

• Dynamic fish assemblages in the Coorong

– Flow, salinity and connectivity key drivers

• Freshwater inflows promote diversity, abundance,

recruitment and distribution in estuarine-dependent fish

• High variability of estuarine system

– long-term data needed to support management and policy

decisions

- This project was funded by the DEWNR and

is part of the SA Government’s Murray

Futures program, funded in turn by the

Australian Government’s Water for the Future

initiative, and is supported by the MDBA

Living Murray program.

- SARDI staff Jason Earl, Juan Livore, David

Fleer, Greg Ferguson, Hanru Wang, Arron

Strawbridge, Craig Noell and George Giatas.

- DEWNR staff Paul McEvoy, Adrienne Rumbelow, Rebecca Quin, Adam

Watt, Kirsty Wedge, Jason Higham, Ann-Marie Jolley and Liz Barnett for

support and project management.

- Lakes and Coorong fishers for sample supply.

- Ngarrindjeri Regional Authority (NRA) to provide

field assistance (funded by the MDBA via IPP).

Acknowledgements

- Baseline work was funded by the FRDC,

CSIRO WfHC Flagship and MDBA through

SAMDB NRMB.