Estimated catch: 65 tonnes

Stock Status of Target Species

^{Source: Patterson, H, Larcombe, J, Woodhams, J and Curtotti, R 2020, Fishery status reports 2020, Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences, Canberra. CC BY 4.0.}

Management Plans/Arrangements

The Southern Squid Jig Fishery is managed in accordance with the Southern Squid Jig Fishery Management Plan 2005 and the Arrow Squid Fishery Harvest Strategy. The management arrangements include regulating the type and amount of fishing gear able to be used. There were no changes to the Southern Squid Jig Fishery Management Plan 2005 in 2019–20.

AFMA, in consultation with the Squid Resource Assessment Group and South East Management Advisory Committee have commenced a review of the Arrow Squid Fishery Harvest Strategy with the intent to simplify and update the triggers and management responses to ensure they reflect the current state of the fishery and meet the requirements of the 2018 Harvest Strategy Policy.

Analysis of Performance

Status of fish stocks

Gould’s squid (also known as arrow squid) is a highly productive and relatively short lived species. It is not managed to a target reference point; the Arrow Squid Fishery Harvest Strategy is based on a series of catch and effort triggers which, if reached, will trigger further analyses and management responses.

Effort and catch in the Southern Squid Jig Fishery continues to vary between seasons and has been relatively low in recent years. Catch during 2019-20 was 65 tonnes, well below the first catch trigger of 3,000 tonnes in the Arrow Squid Fishery Harvest Strategy and has not resulted in further analyses and management responses being triggered.

An ongoing challenge for the squid fishery is locating commercially viable aggregations of squid, an issue exacerbated by a small fleet size. Despite low catches, the price received remains high.

External Reviews

No external reviews were completed during 2019-20.