- Better Choice
- Eat Less
Goldband Snapper
Latin name: Pristipomoides multidens
Common names: Snapper, Tropical Snapper
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- Better Choice
- Eat Less
Wild Caught
Region:
NT
Note: Choose NT Goldband snapper caught in trap and line fisheries over those caught in the trawl fishery.
- Goldband snapper is a tropical bottom-dwelling predatory fish species caught in a number of different fisheries in NT, WA and QLD.
- Goldband snapper is a target species in an NT trap/line fishery that operates in the Timor Sea, and a secondary species in bottom trawl subfishery that operates there and in offshore waters throughout the NT.
- Goldband snapper populations appear healthy in the NT.
- Independent observer coverage of trawl fisheries in NT indicates some bycatch of endangered or protected sawfish, dolphins and hammerhead sharks, although it is unlikely that catch levels are contributing to further declines in these species.
- Though trap and line fishing methods present very low risk to habitat, the growing trawl fishery is of some concern for potential impacts to marine habitat.
- NT Offshore Snapper Fishery (427t in 2019)
Goldband snapper is a tropical species, found across northern Australia. The biological stock structure of the species is complex as there are a number of discrete stocks throughout the species’ geographical range. Goldband snapper are fished in QLD, NT and WA, and managed separately by these jurisdictions.
As goldband snapper are a long-lived species (they can live for around 30 years), fishing needs to be set at careful levels to ensure that overfishing is not occurring.
Scientific assessments show that the major goldband snapper populations caught in the NT are in healthy condition, though the status of some populations that see very low fishing pressure is uncertain.
Line and trap fishing methods used to catch goldband snapper in the NT are relatively targeted, and retain a broad range of species with little risk to endangered or vulnerable bycatch species and habitats.
The amount of trawling occurring in the NT has expanded significantly since 2011, when trawling increasingly replaced trap and line fishing as the primary source of catch.
Independent fishery observer programs are an important method of verifying protected species interactions, as well as other fishery impacts, such as the type and volume of discarded catch. Independent observer coverage of trawl fisheries in NT indicates interactions with sawfish, dolphins and hammerhead sharks, although it is unlikely the catch level is contributing to further declines in the populations of these species.
The habitat trawled in the NT is poorly understood; currently the trawled area represents less than 5% of the total area available. Improved habitat mapping is a priority and is being undertaken as part of current management actions.
NT Trap and line-caught goldband snapper are GoodFish ranked a ‘Better Choice’, whereas due to higher – but not critical – impacts of the NT trawl fishery on bycatch species and habitats, a GoodFish ‘Eat Less’ ranking applies to NT trawl-caught goldband snapper.
