From Australian Oceans Data Network
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Handline surveys of deep water fish on the outer Great Barrier Reef

Created 23/06/2025

Updated 23/06/2025

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Three surveys were conducted off the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) in 1992. The first and third surveys (16-21 April and 26-31 December) were in the vicinity of Myrmidon Reef in the central section of the GBR. The second survey (19-29 June) was conducted at No.9 and No.10 Ribbon Reefs in the northern section of the GBR.Hawaiian-style deep-water handlines were used to survey fish at depths ranging from 40 to 340 m. Fishing operations were conducted during the day over the outer slope of the continental shelf. The vessel drifted over bottom features such as ledges, pinnacles, and drop-offs, which were located using a depth sounder. The rate of drift was controlled by using the engines to keep the bow of the vessel at a quartering angle into the dominant wind, sea, or current. At capture, fish were photographed next to a 30-cm rule, measured for standard length (SL) in cm and weighed. Otoliths were removed for age and growth studies and tissues were removed for genetic studies. One specimen of each species was frozen and deposited in the Western Australian Museum (WAM) for identification and cataloguing. Catch per unit effort was also calculated (number of fish/handline hour and kg/handline hour). Surveys were undertaken to assess the potential for establishing a deep reef slope fishery off the Great Barrier Reef. Eighteen new fish records for the Great Barrier Reef, including seven new records for Australia, were reported from the line fishing surveys. The following 18 species represent new records for the Great Barrier Reef region, with the seven for Australia noted with an asterisk ().Serranidae:Epinephelus magniscuttis Postel et al. Epinephelus morrhua (Valenciennes) Epinephelus octofasciatus Griffin Epinephelus radiatus (Day) Saloptia powelli Smith Branchiostegidae: Branchiostegus wardi Whitley Lutjanidae:Etelis carbunculus CuvierEtelis coruscans ValenciennesEtelis radiosus AndersonParacaesio kusakarii Abe Paracaesio stonei Raj and Seeto Pristipomoides argyrogrammicus (Valenciennes) Pristipomoides auricilla (Jordon et al.) Pristipomoides filamentosus (Valenciennes)Pristipomoides flavipinnis Shinohara Pristipomoides multidens (Day)Pristipomoides zonatus (Valenciennes) Lethrinidae:Wattsia mossambica (Smith)Additional species captured during the surveys:Aphareus rutilansAprion virescensCarangoides chrysophrysEpinephelus cyanopodusEpinephelus maculatusEpinephelus tukulaGymnocranius euanusGymnocranius granoculusLethrinus miniatusLutjanus boharPlectropomus leopardusSeriola dumerili

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Additional Info

Field Value
Title Handline surveys of deep water fish on the outer Great Barrier Reef
Language eng
Licence Not Specified
Landing Page https://data.gov.au/data/dataset/1d562fdf-dbfe-4857-8fcc-218373c6bba6
Contact Point
Australian Ocean Data Network
adc@aims.gov.au
Reference Period 20/11/2017
Geospatial Coverage
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
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Data Portal Australian Oceans Data Network

Data Source

This dataset was originally found on Australian Oceans Data Network "Handline surveys of deep water fish on the outer Great Barrier Reef". Please visit the source to access the original metadata of the dataset:
https://catalogue.aodn.org.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/csw/dataset/handline-surveys-of-deep-water-fish-on-the-outer-great-barrier-reef1