Southern Garfish

• Corner Inlet Fishery, Port Phillip Bay Fishery (59t in 2018/19, 54t in 2017/18)

Southern garfish are found in surface waters of estuaries, bays, inlets and gulfs around Australia. Definitive information on the distribution of southern garfish stocks is generally lacking, particularly as most of the fisheries are small in scale.

In Victoria, fishery managers assess the health of the fish stock by looking at historical catch information and the sizes and ages of the fish caught, among other metrics.The southern garfish stock caught by Victorian fishers appears healthy.

Southern garfish is caught using haul seine nets in Victoria. This fishing method has a low impact on habitats and other species; as fishers are present at the nets during fishing activity, endangered wildlife and unwanted catch can be released alive.

Corner Inlet fishers have developed a Code of Practise to improve the survival of released fish, and reporting of endangered wildlife interactions has improved in recent years. Pipefish are the predominant bycatch species caught in fishing activity, and fishery reports indicate almost all were released alive.

New regulations proposed by fishers have been operating in the Corner Inlet fishery since 2020 which has reduced fishing effort from a peak in 2019 and better protected fish stocks, other species and habitats. This proactive approach from Corner Inlet Fishers is welcome.

The Corner Inlet Fishery is also partially protected by a no-take marine reserve, which should provide a degree of protection and resilience for biomass.

• SA Marine Scalefish Fishery (155t 2016)
• TAS Scalefish Fishery (7t 2018-19)

Southern garfish are found in surface waters of estuaries, bays, inlets and gulfs around Australia. The status of southern garfish stocks are of concern in a number of fisheries around Australia as a result of high fishing pressure and habitat loss. Catches in most regions are at historically low levels due to a reduction in available fish. Definitive stock data is generally lacking, as most of the fisheries are small in scale.

Although fishery managers have taken actions to reduce the catch of overfished southern garfish in South Australia (such as reducing the amount of southern garfish that can be caught), these have not resulted in significant recovery of stocks, which remain overfished. The implementation of marine parks in SA in 2012 removed some fishing activity and protected southern garfish nursery habitat, which may help in building the recovery of the stocks in the future.

The lack of knowledge of stock structure around Tasmania and recent declines in catch and the rate of catch are of concern – the local fishery appears to have collapsed.

There is also a significant recreational catch of southern garfish, although catch levels are not quantified and impact on stocks is unknown.

Southern garfish are caught using lines and haul and dip nets. These methods have generally low impacts on habitats and on other species; as fishers are present at the nets during fishing activity, endangered wildlife can be released alive. Net fisheries tend to catch and discard a substantial amount of undersized garfish, which tend not to survive as nets de-scale the fish. Garfish tend to aggregate together, and netting these aggregations has been identified as responsible for leading to declines in population numbers.

General reporting of other species of fish caught in the nets is poor across SA and TAS.