SUMMARY

SUMMARY

IDENTIFICATION

SCIENTIFIC NAME(s)

Scomber australasicus

SPECIES NAME(s)

Blue mackerel

COMMON NAMES

Pacific mackerel, Common mackerel, English mackerel, School mackerel, spotted mackerel, chub mackerel, southern mackerel, slimy mackerel

Blue mackerel (Scomber australisicus) are a schooling pelagic species that occurs in tropical and temperate waters of the Pacific Ocean. They can be found to depths of 200 metres over the continental shelf, although juveniles inhabit inshore waters and shallower waters. Fishing for Blue mackerel in the Small Pelagic Fishery has historically been focused off south east NSW, eastern Tasmania and South Australia. Almost all small pelagic stocks are multijurisdictional (that is, managed by both the Australian and state governments) under Offshore Constitutional Settlement arrangements (Ward et al. 2007).

The 2014 SPF harvest strategy (AFMA 2014a), which was used to set recommended biological catches (RBCs) and total allowable catches (TACs) for the 2014–15 and 2015–16 fishing seasons, included a three-tier system that was applied separately to each stock. The tiered system was designed to allow greater levels of catch when higher-quality research information was available on stock status. Tier 1, for stocks with the highest quality of information (from daily egg production method [DEPM] surveys), provided for the largest potential RBC as a proportion of the estimated biomass. Tier 3, for stocks with relatively poor-quality information, provided for the smallest RBC (Small Pelagic Fishery Management Plan 2009; Moore and Mazur 2016). This species is managed under tier 2.

The stock structure of blue mackerel is uncertain. Genetic analysis of samples from southern Queensland, Western Australia and New Zealand indicates population subdivision. Genetic differences were detected between Western Australia and Queensland, and between Western Australia and New Zealand, but not between Queensland and New Zealand (Schmarr et al. 2007; Whittington et al. 2012). No finer-scale analyses of blue mackerel have been undertaken to further define stock structure. Blue mackerel within the SPF is assessed and managed as separate stocks in the eastern and western subareas (Moore and Mazur 2016).

The Small Pelagic Fishery (SPF) extends from southern Queensland to southern Western Australia, the fishery includes purse-seine and midwater trawl fishing vessels. The catch for blue mackerel by Commonwealth vessels increased in the 2015–16 fishing seasons to the extent that the Commonwealth catch was larger than the state catch (Moore and Mazur 2016).

This fishery entered full assessment by the Marine Stewardship Council system in September 2014. Click here to link to the MSC fishery page and to learn more about the MSC fishery.

The Blue mackerel – W stock profile share the same MSC assessment.


ANALYSIS

No related analysis

SCORES

Management Quality:

Management Strategy:

NOT YET SCORED

Managers Compliance:

NOT YET SCORED

Fishers Compliance:

NOT YET SCORED