Recreational catch composition, catch rates, effort and expenditure in a specialised land-based pelagic game fish fishery

A specialised recreational land-based game fish fishery in south-eastern Australia was characterised using electronic fisher diaries. Live bait and lure-casting were the primary methods used during long trip durations (mean 9.44 ± SD 6.65 h). Effort was temporally and spatially dynamic, whereby fishers appeared to follow the 20 °C sea surface temperature isotherm. A total of 4436 fish from 44 taxa was recorded. The highest mean catch rates were recorded for Seriola lalandi, Thunnus tonggol, and Istiompax indica (0.0025–0.0224 fish h−1). However, at least 42% of trips were unsuccessful in capturing nominated target species. High average expenditure of $1734.75 (±788.07) per fisher yr−1 was attributed to long travel distances to fishing locations and specialised equipment. The study highlighted the need to develop cost-effective survey methods to access a representative sample of ‘hard-to-reach’ fishers from specialised recreational fisheries.

► A diary survey was used to characterise a recreational land-based game fish fishery. ► Effort was temporally and spatially dynamic following the 20 °C isotherm. ► Highest catch rates were for Seriola lalandi, Thunnus tonggol, and Istiompax indica. ► High average expenditure of $1734.75 per fisher. ► Demonstrated need for cost-effective survey methods for specialised recreational fisheries.