Stock enhancement through the release of hatchery-reared juveniles is increasingly being used in marine recreational fisheries. The popularity of this approach is related to the perception that it can maintain or increase stock biomass, catches and catch rates without the need for unpopular management controls typically used in commercial fisheries. Such enhancement projects tend to focus on the hatchery components up to the point of release, with typically inadequate funding provided to monitor the survival of released fish and assess their contribution to the fishery. Evaluations of success of stock enhancement in marine recreational fisheries are correspondingly rare. In Western Australia (WA) there has been a history of marine/estuarine fish stocking, principally involving sparids, and largely driven by recreational interests, dating back to 1995, initially with black bream in the Swan River, and later the Blackwood River. More recently, in response to a fish kill in Cockburn Sound in 2015, the crowd-funded stock enhancement project ‘Snapper Guardians’ was initiated by Recfishwest. This project has received funding through various State Government support packages resulting in the release of 300,000+ snapper fingerlings to date with more future commitments.
Recent assessments of demersal scalefish and associated management reforms in WA have led to calls for more investment in hatchery-based stocking to rebuild demersal stocks, in particular West Australian dhufish. The existing snapper enhancement program provides a valuable opportunity to determine the effectiveness of such programs. If we are unable to demonstrate measurable success from this program, where the biology, methods, and public engagement are already well established, it is unlikely that a similar approach for dhufish would have a meaningful impact. A relatively low-cost, preliminary monitoring program for snapper could therefore offer critical, evidence-based insights to guide future investment decisions and determine whether larger, more expensive stock enhancement projects are justified.