Supporting the sustainable development of Australia’s octopus industry: First assessment of an artisanal fishery

Abstract

Octopus fisheries are expanding worldwide to meet demand and fill market gaps left by overexploited species, a trend that is increasingly apparent in Australia. However, a lack of biological and ecological data is impeding the sustainable development of octopus fisheries. This is the first study to characterise the catch demographics and region-specific abundance of commercially harvested octopus in a remote fishery in southern Australia. Through field surveys, octopus and egg presence was monitored across four seasons and five sampling locations. A sub-sample of octopus from summer and winter were retained and examined. Octopus and eggs were present all year, with peaks of abundance in autumn and low abundance in summer. The catch consisted of large-egged holobenthic species, which were predominantly Octopus berrima (94 %) and Octopus pallidus (6%). Octopus were more abundant in the small and relatively hypersaline bays, but smaller, compared to octopus collected from the more exposed Gulf regions. For O. berrima, females made up 73 % of the catch, were 38 % smaller than males and only 32 % were mature. In contrast, 70 % of the males were mature. Based on the biological and ecological data, recommendations are provided for the sustainability and development of the fishery. As underutilised invertebrate fisheries become increasingly important to global food security, fundamental monitoring studies, such as this, are critical to ensure longevity and conservation of wild populations and fishery resources.