Determining the spatial distribution and abundance indices for Moreton Bay Bugs, Thenus parindicus and Thenus australiensis in Queensland to improve stock assessment and management

Abstract

We report on the first comprehensive investigation into the spatial distribution of Moreton Bay Bugs within the Queensland East Coast Otter Trawl Fishery. This research was a collaboration between the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries and James Cook University, applying interdisciplinary approaches to successfully model habitat preferences of the two Moreton Bay Bug species and map their distributions along Queensland’s east coast. Historic catch records were then split according to each species’ spatial distribution. From these records, standardised catch rates were produced as indices of abundance for each species for use in future stock assessments of the Moreton Bay Bug fishery.