Standard Talk (15 mins) Australian Society for Fish Biology Conference 2022

Cross-jurisdictional larval supply essential for east Australian spanner crabs (#198)

Hayden Schilling 1 2 3 , Daniel E Hewitt 3 , Neil Malan 3 , Matt D Taylor 2 3 , Daniel D Johnson 2
  1. Sydney Institute of Marine Science, Chowder Bay, NSW, Australia
  2. NSW DPI Fisheries, Taylors Beach, NSW, Australia
  3. Centre for Marine Science & Innovation, University of NSW, UNSW, NSW, Australia

The spanner crab (Ranina ranina) stock of eastern Australia is distributed across two state jurisdictions and as a non-migratory species with a pelagic larval phase, connectivity within this stock likely occurs via larval dispersal, driven by ocean currents. To understand connectivity and patterns of larval supply in the east Australian spanner crab stock we used Lagrangian particle tracking methods to simulate larval transport around the key spanner crab fishing regions in eastern Australia. Results show that spawning off central Queensland (QLD) supplies a large proportion of recruits, supporting both the QLD and New South Wales (NSW) fisheries. Lagged larval settlement showed significant correlations to catch-per-unit-effort and the proportion of total harvest taken within the NSW fishery, providing evidence to suggest the NSW fishery may be reliant on spawning activity in Queensland. The QLD and NSW fisheries are highly connected, and the broad-scale patterns identified by the current modelling approach could provide an indicator of potentially good or bad recruitment years, particularly as finer resolution, and refined reproductive biology knowledge on spanner crabs becomes available. The QLD and NSW fisheries are highly connected with a source-sink structure and it is recommended that a co-management strategy be adopted.