Bonito


Latin name: Sarda australis


  • Eat Less

Wild Caught

Region:
NSW

Key Facts

  • Bonito are caught using handline, troll and jig methods that are relatively targeted and have no contact with seafloor habitats.
  • Bonito populations appear healthy.
  • The fishing methods used are unlikely to pose a high risk to other species, but Government managers have been non-compliant with their obligations to improve management of bycatch issues in regulation of the fishery in which bonito are caught.
  • Marine parks and closures throughout the fishery also provide a degree of protection in some areas of the fishery. At the time of writing, the NSW Government was considering opening highly protected marine parks to fishing.

More information

  • Ocean Trap and Line Fishery (231t in 2019)

Bonito is a tuna-like mackerel found throughout the southwestern Pacific, including Australian, Norfolk Island and New Zealand waters. It is a predator and prey species found in coastal waters, and is highly mobile, forming spawning schools throughout late summer and autumn.

Bonito are caught by line, jig and troll fishing methods in NSW. These fishing methods are likely to pose a low risk to other species and seafloor habitats.

The Australian Bonito population appears to be in healthy condition.

Requirements for bycatch and discard reporting are poor in the fishery, but the line methods used to catch the fish are targeted and therefore low risk for other marine wildlife.

The fishery is subject to a range of legislation, including Wildlife Trade Operation (WTO) accreditation. At the time of writing (June 2021), AMCS had found the NSW Department of Primary Industries was non compliant with its WTO conditions in relation to bycatch management in this fishery, impacting the ranking of this assessment overall. However, bonito is not caught using methods that result in a lot of bycatch.

Marine parks in NSW provide the most effective science based protection from the ecological risks posed by fishing, but alarmingly, at the time of writing, the NSW Government was considering opening highly protected marine parks to fishing.