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The RAP Report

Providing anglers feedback on the data you're collecting from some of NSW's key recreational species.

Welcome to the latest issue of the NSW Research Angler Program (RAP) newsletter. This month we will be focusing on the humble Dusky Flathead, an important and very popular species for both fishos and the RAP. The Dusky Flathead is a key species within all of the programs within the RAP, with many keen anglers donating their catch to determine age, while others participate in the tagging and the Keen Angler Diary programs, which are run in the Trophy Flathead Fisheries of Lake Macquarie, St Georges Basin, and Tuross Head.

Monthly prize draw winner

Congratulations to our monthly winners who will all receive a $50 gift voucher. If you are one of our lucky winners, we will be in contact with you shortly to organise your prize. Once again thank you to all anglers that donate their frames to the program.

April - Wazza Buckby - Mulloway, 910 mm caught at North Stradbroke Island, aged at 9 years

May - Neil Cooley - Mulloway, 850 mm caught in the Hunter River, aged 4 years

June - Steve Nicolopoulos - Mulloway, 960 mm caught in the Georges River, aged 6 years

July - Dave Rae - Snapper, 462 mm caught at Urunga, aged 6 years

August - Thomas Perrett - Mulloway, 1010 mm caught in the Hawkesbury River, aged 7 years

Third oldest dusky aged

Keen angler Nathan Birt recently donated some Dusky Flathead otoliths from a 77.5 cm fish. The fish was aged at 11 years old, which when added to the other Dusky Flathead samples received, is the third oldest sample we have aged. As you can also see from the graph Sectioned otolith showing the 11 growth rings below, this data is helping to address a gap in the age curve for the species.
Right: The otolith section from Nathan Birt's 77.5 cm 11- year-old Lake Macquarie Dusky Flathead.

Above: Nathan Birt's Dusky Flathead is the third oldest fish aged as part of the program and the only fish aged at 11 years.

Tagging & Recaptures

Participants of the NSW Trophy Dusky Flathead Fishery tagging program have been hard at work. A total of 220 fish were tagged in the past 12 months with Steve Norris managing to tag an impressive 63 fish ranging from 70 cm to 90 cm. With numbers like this, it is no wonder Steve Norris with one of his tagged Dusky Flathead that Steve recently tagged his 100th flathead. Nathan Debono has also been catching some great fish with 20 tags to his name over this period. This is quite the feat when you think that only flathead over 70 cm are tagged under this program.
Right: Steve Norris with one of the many trophy Dusky Flathead he has tagged as part of the Trophy Fishery program. Photo courtesy of Steve Norris.

'Top Five' Taggers

Tagger	No. fish tagged	Region
Steve Norris	63	Lake Macquarie
Nathan Debono	20	Lake Macquarie
Graham Anderson	15	Lake Macquarie
Alex Schmaler-Loomes	12	Lake Macquarie
Mark Williams	11	Lake Macquarie
Rodney Austin	11	Lake Macquarie

It's no surprise that our current top five taggers are all located in Lake Macquarie. While tagging teams at St Georges Basin and Tuross led the way when the Trophy Fishery Program began in early 2017, numbers of fish tagged in Lake Macquarie have surged in recent months. At this stage, 79% of all Dusky Flathead tagged over the past year have come from Lake Macquarie. One interesting anomaly is that St Georges Basin and Tuross have a fairly even spread of fish through all size classes, while Lake Macquarie has a much higher contribution of fish in the 70-74 size class.
Below: Lake Macquarie has contributed solid numbers of tagged fish to the Trophy Fishery Program in the past year.

Recaptures

With such a great tagging effort over the past year, it is no surprise that we have had a total of 26 reported recaptures. As expected, with the 79% of tagged fish recorded in Lake Macquarie, we have had a much larger proportion of recaptures from this system. The Tuross system recorded one recapture, St Georges Basin had six and Lake Macquarie 19. The vast majority of these fish were recaptured less than 1 km from their release point, displaying a strong site fidelity. When you consider that some of these fish may have been at liberty for over two years, it shows once you find a good flathead spot it is worth returning. Seven of the recaptured fish moved between two and five kilometres from the release point with one fish leaving the estuary and moving a massive 23 km. This fish was originally tagged in Lake Macquarie by Daniel Guilfoyle on the 14 November 2017. Over its 132 days at liberty, the fish has made its way out of the estuary and headed north before being recaptured by Allan Roddom on the 26 March 2018 at the southern end of Stockton Beach. Daniel has also been lucky enough to have a second flathead Daniel Guilfoyle with his tagged Dusky Flathead

recaptured. A 76 cm flathead tagged on the 25 June 2018 in Lake Macquarie was recaptured 407 days later on the 6 August 2019 by James Shaw in the same location. The fish measured 76 cm before James re-released it. Interestingly, this fish was bleeding heavily when initially tagged and released.
Right: A well-travelled flathead that made the long trip out of Lake Macquarie to Stockton Beach. Photo courtesy of Daniel Guilfoyle.

23 km move north: tagged Dusky Flathead #D19334 made the move north over 132 days to be recaptured on Stockton Beach.

Keen Angler Diary

Another section of the RAP that provides DPI Fisheries with a better understanding of anglers' fishing habits is the Keen Angler Diary program. This initiative allows keen anglers that fish within the Trophy Flathead Fisheries to log their catches, including dates, locations, and fish caught. One angler has recently completed his diary after fishing Lake Macquarie for 18 months, providing some interesting information. Over this period 98 trips were logged covering most of Lake Macquarie. This angler was successful in landing fish on all but four trips, totalling 291 fish. As shown in the graph below, he was primarily a catch and release fisher, releasing 86% of his catch. The fish ranged in size from 268 mm to a trophy-sized fish of 845 mm. One good sign for the Lake Macquarie fishery is the number of legal fish recorded. The data shows that our keen angler recorded very few undersize fish, compared to larger fish which is great to see.

Graph showing number of Dusky Flathead captures by angler

This information will be added to the other diaries returned by our keen anglers. If you are interested in joining the program or wish to return a completed diary, follow the link at the bottom of the page to more information.
Below: One of many quality Dusky Flathead landed by our Keen Angler.
Dusky Flathead on brag mat

Monster Mulloway recaptured

Last months newsletter featured Lachlan Monro and a 143 cm monster Mulloway he tagged and released in the Coffs Harbour region. This fish has since been recaptured and donated to the RAP program for aging. Incredibly the fish had been at liberty for 264 days and was recaptured only 1 km from its original release point. The fish was aged at 18 years old, placing it at an average age for a fish of this length. Its survival post-release is a testament to Lachlan's handling of the fish.

Below: Lachlan Monro with his massive 143 cm Mulloway prior to release. Photo Courtesy of Lachlan Monro.

Above: Otolith section of the 143cm Mulloway recaptured by James Sakker showing the age rings.

How can you get involved?

Donate your frames

If you're interested in citizen science and are lucky enough to catch a Mulloway, Kingfish, Snapper, Dusky Flathead, Tailor, Black Bream, Spanish or Spotted Mackerel of any legal size, donate your fish frame at any participating drop-off point.

Join the Keen Anglers or tagging program

If you're an avid angler and would like to join the RAP team we are looking for anglers to join the Keen Angler Program and Mulloway Tagging Program. Please send us an email to find out more.

Monthly prize draws

All fish frame donations made to the RAP program gain one entry into the monthly prize draw for a $50 gift voucher at selected tackle stores.

Buy or Renew your fishing licence

Fishing rules and regulations

Forward

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