A tagging study on tailor (Pomatomus saltatrix) in Western Australian waters: their movement, exploitation, growth and mortality

Abstract

Recreational anglers fishing for tailor (Pomatomus saltatrix) around Perth, Western Australia, have expressed concern over declining catches during the early 1990s. A total of 3949 undersize (below the legal minimum length of 250 mm), 1015 sub-adult and 143 adult tailor were tagged between November 1994 and August 1996 at 24 sites along 1200 km of Western Australian coastline. Undersize tailor were recaptured at lower rates than sub-adult tailor, and were, on average, at liberty for longer periods. Modelling indicates that fishers under-report undersize fish, probably because of the legal minimum length requirement, and that the natural loss rate is higher for undersize than sub-adult fish. The majority of recaptured undersize and sub-adult fish had moved <25 km, remaining in sheltered estuarine and marine areas. In contrast, recaptured undersize and sub-adult tailor that had become adults while tagged displayed behaviour consistent with a northward or offshore winter movement. Comparisons between tag returns and the annual commercial catch of tailor suggests that recreational fishers take the majority of the total catch of tailor in Western Australia. Growth estimates between 0.41 ± 0.19 and 0.44 ± 0.12 mm day ⁻¹ suggest that tailor reach legal size in 18–22 months.