Predation Risk within Fishing Gear and Implications for South Australian Rock Lobster Fisheries.
Depredation of southern rock lobster (Jasus edwardsii) within fishing gear by the Maori octopus (Pinnoctopus cordiformis) has economic and ecological impacts on valuable fisheries in South Australia. In addition, depredation rates can be highly variable resulting in uncertainties for the fishery. We examined how in-pot lobster predation was influenced by factors such as lobster size and sex, season, fishing zone, and catch rate. Using mixed modelling techniques, we found that in-pot predation risk increased with lobster size and was higher for male lobsters. In addition, the effect of catch rate of lobsters on predation risk by octopus differed among fishing zones. There was both a seasonal and a spatial component to octopus predation, with an increased risk within discrete fishing grounds in South Australia at certain times of the year. Information about predation within lobster gear can assist fishery management decision-making, potentially leading to significant reduction in economic losses to the fishery.
Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS), University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.
Felipe
F
Briceño
South Australian Research and Development Institute (Aquatic Sciences), Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
Adrian Joseph
AJ
Linnane
Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS), University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.
Juan Carlos
JC
Quiroz
Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS), University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.
Caleb
C
Gardner
Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS), University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.
Gretta Tatyana
GT
Pecl
D000465:Algorithms; D000818:Animals; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D005398:Fisheries / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods*; D005843:Geography; D008297:Male; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D049831:Octopodiformes / Q000502:physiology*; D033521:Palinuridae / Q000502:physiology*; D011156:Population Density; D011235:Predatory Behavior; D012307:Risk Factors; D012621:Seasons; D013021:South Australia