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Fishing · Catch & effort · Abundance

Catch per unit effort

1.35 kg/potlift

Kilograms of lobster landed per pot lift — the fishery’s long-standing index of abundance. For Southern Rock Lobster the relationship between CPUE and true abundance is strong, which is why it anchors the stock assessment.

Worked example · kg/potlift by month · vs target
Industry target 1.2 1.35 0.9 Mar Aug Feb
kg/potlift by month · vs target
The benchmark

The Tasmanian fishery carries a commercial catch-rate target of about 1.2 kg per pot lift; state-wide CPUE has ranged from record lows near 0.8 to well above target in productive southern grounds.

IMAS Tas Fisheries ↗
What it signals

CPUE tracks both the health of the grounds you fish and your variable cost of catching — a rising rate means fewer lifts, less fuel and less time for the same catch. Because technology quietly lifts efficiency over time, the assessment standardises CPUE before reading it as abundance.

Data required to calculate
Lobster landedkgPot liftsno.

Silo pulls each of these from the sources the operation already uses, and keeps the figure current automatically.

How to improve it
01

Fish grounds and depths on the run of abundance, not habit.

02

Log every lift accurately so your CPUE signal is clean.

03

Rest worked ground and rotate pots to avoid local depletion.

Questions & answers

What is catch per unit effort?

Kilograms of lobster landed per pot lift — the fishery’s long-standing index of abundance. For Southern Rock Lobster the relationship between CPUE and true abundance is strong, which is why it anchors the stock assessment.

What data do you need to calculate catch per unit effort?

You need: Lobster landed (kg), Pot lifts (no.). Silo pulls each of these from the sources the operation already uses and keeps the figure current automatically.

What is a good catch per unit effort benchmark?

The Tasmanian fishery carries a commercial catch-rate target of about 1.2 kg per pot lift; state-wide CPUE has ranged from record lows near 0.8 to well above target in productive southern grounds.

How do you improve catch per unit effort?

Fish grounds and depths on the run of abundance, not habit. Log every lift accurately so your CPUE signal is clean. Rest worked ground and rotate pots to avoid local depletion.

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