National recreational fishing survey of Southern Bluefin Tuna

Background

The Commonwealth Department of Agriculture has launched a survey of recreational fisher effort, catch, release and harvest estimates of Southern Bluefin Tuna (SBT) and other large tuna and billfish in Australia; the first time this type of national assessment has been undertaken.

Recreational fishers in NSW are being invited to participate in this comprehensive survey along with fishers from the other states where SBT are caught – South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania.

Survey Objectives and Methods

The survey will collect robust information on the catch, effort and release rates of SBT and other tuna and billfish species caught by fishers with a recreational fishing licence in NSW.

Individuals with a 1 and 3 year NSW recreational fishing licence will be randomly selected for inclusion in a brief telephone interview about gamefishing activity specific to SBT and other large tuna and billfish species over the previous 12 months.  Interviews will take place from October to December 2019.

How can recreational fishers help?

NSW fishers are encouraged to participate in the survey, which provides an opportunity to better understand the nature and scale of the recreational fishery for this iconic species.

Importantly, all research is conducted on a completely voluntary and confidential basis.

Further Information

Find out more information about the National SBT survey or contact NSW DPI Fisheries staff: