Tagging project to uncover the secret life of ‘Bluey’

NSW Department of Primary Industries’ Scientists will tag and monitor the Blue Groper population off Sydney’s eastern beaches in a groundbreaking research project designed to learn more about the iconic fish species.

The $200,000 tagging project will be funded by the NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI), with support from Waverley Council and Randwick City Council.

The project is part of an overall protection strategy for the Eastern Blue Groper, which is one of the state symbols for NSW.

The Blue Groper is regarded fondly by swimmers, divers and snorkellers due to its distinctive appearance and friendly nature, and has been banned from commercial fishing and sale since the mid 1980s.

In 2002 the NSW Government and Waverley and Randwick Councils joined together to declare the Bronte-Coogee Aquatic Reserve, which provides an extra level of protection for the fish by banning all forms of fishing for the species between Clovelly and Gordons Bay.

This new tagging and monitoring project will provide DPI scientists with a wealth of new information about the gropers’ movements, feeding patterns and other behaviour, which will help us build on existing protection measures.

Details of the research project include:

• Tagging up to 10 fish with state-of-the-art miniature acoustic transmitter tags
• Installing four acoustic listening stations in the waters in and near the aquatic reserve
• The tags emit a signal every 1-3 minutes which is picked up by the stations
• This allows each groper’s location and movement to be tracked
• The tags also have a depth sensor so the depth of each tagged fish can be recorded
• Temperature loggers will also provide continuous monitoring of water temperatures

In this way the date, time and depth of Blue Groper movements can be monitored in real time by our scientists over an 18 month period.

Similar research has been conducted by the State Government into the endangered grey nurse shark, which has yielded valuable new information on the species’ behaviour.

This has helped the State Government better plan for the grey nurse shark’s protection measures – we believe the Blue Groper tagging project will pay the same dividends.

As part of the agreement, the NSW Government will sign an operational agreement with Randwick and Waverley Councils, which will improve the co-operative management of the reserve and give council rangers greater powers to enforce fishing regulations.

A plan of management (POM) is being developed by the DPI, the councils and local community.

Randwick Mayor Murray Matson and Waverley Mayor Peter Moscatt said their councils were pleased to be involved with the project.

‘This is a significant step forward for the sustainable management of the Bronte-Coogee Aquatic Reserve, and is the first operational agreement and POM for an aquatic reserve in NSW,’ Mayor Matson said.

‘Clovelly Bay is well known as the home of ‘Bluey’ the groper, and is one of the best and safest places in Sydney to snorkel and catch a glimpse of these friendly fish.

‘The council hopes this critical tagging and monitoring project will ensure the future survival of this much-loved species.’

Mayor Moscatt said the aquatic reserve had become a haven for local marine life as well as an education and recreational asset for the local community.

‘The Blue Gropers along our coastline are loved by residents and visitors and Waverley Council is very pleased to be involved with a project which will help protect this iconic species,’ Cr Moscatt said.

‘We are particularly interested in finding out how far the fish travel as I have heard reports of sightings as far north as Ben Buckler in North Bondi.’

The tagging project is expected to begin in early October.

Blue groper facts

• The Eastern Blue Groper became the fish emblem for NSW in 1996
• It is found in coastal waters from Hervey Bay in QLD to Wilson’s Promontory in Victoria. A similar species of groper is found in the waters off SA and WA
• All juvenile Blue Gropers start life as females and are greyish-brown, brownish-green or green in colour
• As they mature they go through what is known as the ‘Initial Stage’ where they can change sex between male and female, depending on breeding needs
• The fish then enter the fully developed stage when their sex remains constant
• Only the males have the distinctive vivid blue colouring – the female fish are reddish-brown
• The male of the species can grow to one metre in length and can live for around 50 years
• Blue Gropers have been banned from commercial catch and sale in NSW since the 1980s, although hook and line recreational fishing is still permitted.
• The State Government is also proposing to introduce a minimum legal length of 30cm for recreational fishing to protect juvenile gropers.