Age, growth and demographic characteristics of Sillago flindersi exploited in a multi-species trawl fishery

© 2014, Japanese Society of Fisheries Science.This study investigated variability in the growth, length, and age compositions and the rates of mortality of Flinders’ sillago Sillago flindersi exploited in a demersal trawl fishery in eastern Australia. Sampling was done over 2 years across three dept...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Gray, C., Barnes, L., Ochwada-Doyle, F., van der Meulen, D., Kendall, B., Robbins, William
Format: Journal Article
Published: 2014
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/51977
_version_ 1848758813185802240
author Gray, C.
Barnes, L.
Ochwada-Doyle, F.
van der Meulen, D.
Kendall, B.
Robbins, William
author_facet Gray, C.
Barnes, L.
Ochwada-Doyle, F.
van der Meulen, D.
Kendall, B.
Robbins, William
author_sort Gray, C.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description © 2014, Japanese Society of Fisheries Science.This study investigated variability in the growth, length, and age compositions and the rates of mortality of Flinders’ sillago Sillago flindersi exploited in a demersal trawl fishery in eastern Australia. Sampling was done over 2 years across three depth strata at two locations approximately 400 km apart. Ageing of sectioned sagittal otoliths indicated that the observed maximum age of females was 6 years and that of males 5 years, that growth was variable and that the von Bertalanffy growth parameters significantly differed according to gender and location. Females attained a greater L<inf>8</inf> than males, but males displayed greater k values. The L<inf>8</inf> values of both sexes and the mean length-at-age for fish aged 3–5 years were greater at the location of highest latitude. Length and age compositions differed according to depth, with smaller (<15 cm FL) and younger (<2 years) fish generally more predominant in the shallow (<30 m) strata than in the deeper (>31 m) strata. S. flindersi appear to use the shallow strata as a juvenile habitat, moving to deeper waters as they grow. This depth stratification between cohorts may reduce intraspecific competition and could potentially be used as a spatial management tool to reduce any fishing-associated impacts on juveniles. Fish between 1 and 3 years old dominated the age compositions of populations combined across all depths, with estimated total mortality ranging between 2.24 and 2.40. Fishing mortality ranged between 1.54 and 1.70 and was more than twice the derived natural mortality. Exploitation rates were approximately 0.70, indicating that the species was heavily fished.
first_indexed 2025-11-14T09:49:57Z
format Journal Article
id curtin-20.500.11937-51977
institution Curtin University Malaysia
institution_category Local University
last_indexed 2025-11-14T09:49:57Z
publishDate 2014
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling curtin-20.500.11937-519772017-09-13T15:40:23Z Age, growth and demographic characteristics of Sillago flindersi exploited in a multi-species trawl fishery Gray, C. Barnes, L. Ochwada-Doyle, F. van der Meulen, D. Kendall, B. Robbins, William © 2014, Japanese Society of Fisheries Science.This study investigated variability in the growth, length, and age compositions and the rates of mortality of Flinders’ sillago Sillago flindersi exploited in a demersal trawl fishery in eastern Australia. Sampling was done over 2 years across three depth strata at two locations approximately 400 km apart. Ageing of sectioned sagittal otoliths indicated that the observed maximum age of females was 6 years and that of males 5 years, that growth was variable and that the von Bertalanffy growth parameters significantly differed according to gender and location. Females attained a greater L<inf>8</inf> than males, but males displayed greater k values. The L<inf>8</inf> values of both sexes and the mean length-at-age for fish aged 3–5 years were greater at the location of highest latitude. Length and age compositions differed according to depth, with smaller (<15 cm FL) and younger (<2 years) fish generally more predominant in the shallow (<30 m) strata than in the deeper (>31 m) strata. S. flindersi appear to use the shallow strata as a juvenile habitat, moving to deeper waters as they grow. This depth stratification between cohorts may reduce intraspecific competition and could potentially be used as a spatial management tool to reduce any fishing-associated impacts on juveniles. Fish between 1 and 3 years old dominated the age compositions of populations combined across all depths, with estimated total mortality ranging between 2.24 and 2.40. Fishing mortality ranged between 1.54 and 1.70 and was more than twice the derived natural mortality. Exploitation rates were approximately 0.70, indicating that the species was heavily fished. 2014 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/51977 10.1007/s12562-014-0793-z restricted
spellingShingle Gray, C.
Barnes, L.
Ochwada-Doyle, F.
van der Meulen, D.
Kendall, B.
Robbins, William
Age, growth and demographic characteristics of Sillago flindersi exploited in a multi-species trawl fishery
title Age, growth and demographic characteristics of Sillago flindersi exploited in a multi-species trawl fishery
title_full Age, growth and demographic characteristics of Sillago flindersi exploited in a multi-species trawl fishery
title_fullStr Age, growth and demographic characteristics of Sillago flindersi exploited in a multi-species trawl fishery
title_full_unstemmed Age, growth and demographic characteristics of Sillago flindersi exploited in a multi-species trawl fishery
title_short Age, growth and demographic characteristics of Sillago flindersi exploited in a multi-species trawl fishery
title_sort age, growth and demographic characteristics of sillago flindersi exploited in a multi-species trawl fishery
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/51977