Anglers called on to help with barramundi research

Pilbara anglers are being asked to join the volunteers who are helping to find out more about the abundance and vulnerability of barramundi in the region, through a new research project.

Chris Van der Merwe, chairman of the Pilbara Recreational Fishing Advisory Committee, said the volunteers will be able to take part in a tagging program that will help gather much needed data about barramundi stocks between 80 Mile Beach and Onslow.

“The program involves learning how to properly tag barramundi, catching them, measuring and weighing them, recording the data, putting a tag in, and releasing them,” he said.

“It also involves recording the same data if a tagged fish is recaptured.

“We will supply the training, tags and catch cards and the information will be collated and analysed by Department of Fisheries scientists, who are trying to find out more about migration, growth rates, catch rates and population sizes of barramundi in the Pilbara.”

Barramundi (Lates calcarifer) is a tropical species that is highly sought after by anglers for its sport-fishing qualities. The species is also a popular fish for eating. Barramundi are protandrous (start life as males) and catadromic (spend part of their life in freshwater and part in salt water).

Barramundi can be found in creeks and rivers of the Pilbara, where juveniles often inhabit the upper reaches and move downstream to spawn. Mature fish inhabit coastal waters, estuaries and lagoons, returning to the estuaries to spawn.

Mr Van der Merwe said it was hoped the tagging research could help provide some answers for key questions.

“We are hoping to find out whether these are isolated populations that depend on local breeding stocks, or whether they are replenished by larvae, juveniles or adults moving in from further north,” the Pilbara RFAC Chairman said.

A second question is how big is the barramundi population in the Pilbara and what sort of pressure can it withstand in the face of dramatic population growth due to the mining and gas boom and increasing tourism?”

Interested anglers are invited to contact Chris Van der Merwe on 9187 0254 for details, or to leave their name and contact number with the Department of Fisheries office in Karratha on 9144 4337 so the organisers can call back and help them get involved in the project.