Reducing uncertainty in the assessment of the Australian spanner crab fishery

Abstract

In collaboration with the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries we compared the effectiveness of the spanner crab monitoring systems used by New South Wales and Queensland and developed a fishery-independent survey protocol acceptable to both states.

The objectives of this project were to:

1. Determine the age at which spanner crabs (Ranina ranina) recruit to the fishery
2. Develop a common methodology for monitoring and assessing the Australian spanner crab stock
3. Investigate sources of variability in apparent population density.