mattyt

Hi one and all- finally I have the chance to visit the site again! sorry to hear about all the jewfish woes. Most of the fishers I deal with on a regular basis are doing alright, so it must just be by chance that some of you are having a hard time. I've heard of catches dropping off in mid-late summer before, though unfortunately I cant say why....... THis would be a great chance to collect samples though, so any of you that keep your catch, please retain the heads/guts&frames and email me at mulloway@unsw.edu.au. so we can come and pick them up. If its an absolute monster, then just the heads and guts is fine, unless you have a coffin to store them in. Good luck to one and all! Cheers, Matt Uni of NSW PS - Am speaking on High Tide 2KY this Sunday at 6.30am if you want to tune in-

Thanks all- off home now, but keep the replies flowing in. The info posted so far is exactly what i'm after - thanks again! Cheers, Matt

Hi all, i am just trying to get my head around some preliminary economic modelling to do with my stocking work, I was wondering if you guys could help me with a few questions. Some of the questions may seem stupid, but they do fit into the bigger picture. Try not to inflate the answers in line with the passion i know many of you feel for jewie fishing. Please answer the following questions: 1. How many jewies would you catch in a year (i.e. <1, 10, 50, 100!!??) - include all kept and released fish ? 2. What $ value would you outlay to catch an average size jewie (say 4-5 kg). Include in your answer the total cost you would outlay for a trip to target jews specifically (i.e. beer , bait, tackle, boat fuel etc)? As a guide this answer would typically be in the range of $20 - $100). 3. What $ value would you put on the experience of catching an average sized jew (i.e. aesthetic value). Try comparing the enjoyment you get out of it with the enjoyment you may get from a night on the drink that cost you $100 (Dont inflate this one too much)? 4. If there were more jews in a system (i.e. stocking jewfish resulted in better catch rates), would you go fishing more for them. This is especially relevant for those who fish for the fun of it but release their catch? 5. How many nights a year would specifically go fishing to target jewfish? Thanks in advance for your help, and at the end of next week i will post the collated results on Fishraider for your interest- Cheers, Matt University of NSW

Here it is as promised- The new map with labels on it- Cheers, MattTracking_MapwLabels.pdf

Sharky - i got your jewels out yesterday arvo, i will pass them on next time i drop around....... I think the map should have landmarks, unfortunately Mondo, the map is an upriver region between the Moons and Sandy Point, but the updated map should indicate this. To access the shorebased spot on the Southern shore, i think you may have to go along the 4wd/bike tracks at "White Rock"/Menai to get there. Should have the new map posted on Friday- I should also give a big plug for the Recreational Saltwater Fishing License and Recreational Saltwater Fishing Trust, as they are the ones who saw the potential of our research plan and funded this project. The continued support of anglers for the license and trust should see more of these sort of projects completed in the future. Cheers, Matt

Hi one and all- sorry i've been off the radar for so long, things have been pretty hectic . I am just about to update our FAMER website, however i have attached the speel from the new tracking page and a habitat map we created. Yes, the long promised tracking information is finally here. I have the project being reviewed for publication at the moment, but when it is published i will be sure to make it available on the website for those who want the complete story with all its scientific nuance. Tracking_Map1.pdf If you dont have a GPS, the tributary at the top right hand corner is salt pan (NOT little salt pan, which is the next embayment along the Northern Bank). I have also mapped bathymetry data for the Richmond, Tweed, Hastings, Manning and Georges River, however haven't worked up the data into a map yet. The spawning behavior of mulloway in NSW remains largely unknown. The_Dredded_Eel gives a good description of what we think happens, however at the moment there is no data to say whether or not this is fact. My views are similar, except that spawning takes place at the mouths of estuaries, with larvae transported up the estuary, rather than juveniles actively swimming to the lower salinity areas of the estuary. Either one of us could be right, but too my knowledge the Hi one and all- sorry i've been off the radar for so long, things have been pretty hectic . I am just about to update our FAMER website, however i have attached the speel from the new tracking page and a habitat map we created. Yes, the long promised tracking information is finally here. I have the project being reviewed for publication at the moment, but when it is published i will be sure to make it available on the website for those who want the complete story with all its scientific nuance. If you dont have a GPS, the tributary at the top right hand corner is salt pan (NOT little salt pan, which is the next embayment along the Northern Bank). I have also mapped bathymetry data for the Richmond, Tweed, Hastings, Manning and Georges River, however haven't worked up the data into a map yet. The spawning behavior of mulloway in NSW remains largely unknown. The_Dredded_Eel gives a good description of what we think happens, however at the moment there is no data to say whether or not this is fact. My views are similar, except that spawning takes place at the mouths of estuaries, with larvae transported up the estuary, rather than juveniles actively swimming to the lower salinity areas of the estuary. Either one of us could be right, but too my knowledge there is no reliable scientifc information out there to say which one??!! Spawning time is GENERALLY between November and March. Never fear, we have noted this gap in mulloway knowledge, and I am just about to commence a 4 year experiment to get a solid indication of what is going on. I am going to retrive the listening posts from the mouth of the river in December, so hopefully will have some real answers about seasonal migration soon. These have stored data which should reveal when fish leave the estuary, and how many come back. Anyway, hope the map is useful, if you are shore fishing go on the south bank, as it is much less crowded..... Cheers , Matt Tracking_Map1.pdf

Gday Martin- Thanks for pointing me toward the 35kg Jew. I'm pretty sure that it was around 50kg, and it was said that it was caught around Botany Bay. Nothing solid back yet. I'm hoping someone might know a freind of a friend of a friend who knows who caught it, and pass on my number - a bit of a long shot though. The biggest jew we have on our Scientific Records is 75kg, from South Africa. The biggest i have heard of in Australia is 41kg. We base a lot of our food consumption estimates on the maximum size the fish can grow to.... If anyone knows of someone thats caught one larger than 41 kg, let me know..... Nothing on the cards at the moment for stocking the Hawkesbury. Anyway, hope everyone keeps their ear to ground........ Cheers, Matt

Hi there, I the researcher working on the jewie stocking and tracking projects. I heard on the rumour mill that someone local to Sydney caught a jew of about 50-55kg sometime in the past few months. Is this a vicious rumour, cause i would really like to get in touch with them, and if a fish has grown this big around Sydney it is really important for our research. If anyone could confirm or deny this, or knows the person and would be happy to pass on my details that would be great. I would be really interested to hear about this fish (if it exists). Matt Uni of NSW mattytaylor@unsw.edu.au Daytime #: (02) 9385 2118

Gday Kev, Unfortunately we have no plans to expand into the Hawkesbury at the moment- Thanks for the offer! Cheers, Matt

hi all, Thanks for the fantastic response both on this website but mostly by email. as i said, i am still crunching the data for the first stage of my mulloway tracking work at the moment. Many have expressed an interest in this data, and i will most probably have it written up within a week or two. I have collected all the email addresses of those who have provided them so far and will email it out to them when done. However, if you have expressed interest but have not given me your email, send it too mattytaylor@unsw.edu.au and i will add you too the mailing list- Once again if you are interested in collecting samples (anal fin spines) for the project give me an email as well. Keep catching those jewies...... Cheers, Matt

Kev: sned your email and phone number to mattytaylor@unsw.edu.au, and i will get in touch- I can tell you how the fish move in response to day and night and moons, but i have to keep fishing spots of individual fishers secret- Will be in touch! Cheers Matt

sorry, the website is: FAMER Mulloway Website Cheers, Matt

Following the recent "Tagged Jew" thread created by Matt, i thought it would be good to start up a new thread where people can discuss the project behind the original thread. Just to summarise, Matt caught a tagged jewfish in the Georges River a few weeks ago. The fish had a laceration which was the result of the incomplete healing of a wound from where a pinger or acoustic tag was implanted in the fish. The wound still had some stitches in it, and was closed, however the skin and outer layers of tissue has not completely healed over. There was also a small amount of blood seepage around the wound, which was probably the result of stress on the wound during the landing. At any rate, the fish survived the landing as has been tracked since. It spent some time out in the Bay after Matt released it, and then migrated 11km up river where it was last tracked on the 16th of June between Salt Pan and Moon Bay. It is now 20mm bigger than when we dit the surgery, so it is definitely eating and growing. At any rate the wound will heal completely. Usual healing times are around 7 days (we have verified this by holding fish until the wound heals), but unfortunately the stictching on this fish was not as tight as it could of been. The wound has partially healed as a result of a surgical "super" glue (same as that used in hospitals and vet practices). We use this glue just in case the stitches do not work as they should, so the wound is held together, but unfortunately healing is not as efficient. Due to the potential for someone to get a hold of and abuse the pictures, i have asked that they be removed. We take as much care as possible with the animals, and have Animal Care and Ethics Approval for our proceedures. A great deal of our research here at FAMER is aimed at enhancing recreational fishing. We have been responsible for the Georges Rvier stockings, and are currently finishing off the first stage of our tracking results. I would be happy to disucss stocking, tracking, mulloway movements or any aspect of our research with any interested fishers on this new thread. If any jewie fisher wishes to get involved with our stocking work, please dont hesitate to email (mattytaylor@unsw.edu.au).FAMER Mulloway Website

Grantm: At the moment the project is in its very early planning stages. You have to understand that at the moment we are trying to develop strategies for stocking effectively, and seeing how the fish grow and survive when different strategies are used. This information will most probably be used in the future to plan and assess larger stocking projects. At the moment we consider ours to be pilot work. At the bottom line we need to get back as many samples as possible to ensure we get the required information from our work, as a lot of fish get caught by the pro's that is a real efficient avenue to get samples back, and we need to get back large numbers of both wild and stocked fish to determine any contribution stocking is making. For this reason, the partial recreational fishing havens in the tweed and richmond serves the perfect purpose for the research. Although we have no confirmation of anything yet, i want to continue my work in the Georges, and the Hastings River which are complete RFH's. This will enable us also to compare the success of stocking both types of RFH (complete vs partial), whilst ensuring we get enough samples to obtain growth and survival information. We also intend to apply for funding from other sources to support this work. All stocking will be undertaken inside the RFH's, it is very low-level stocking and will be aimed at specific habitats within the RFH's, at different times of year. As i mentioned before it is very early days, adn there is a lot of planning, surveying and assessment to be undertaken before final decisions are made. CHeers, Matt

My name is Matt, I just registered with this site - I have been running the stocking programs in Botany Bay/Georges River over the past 3 years. We need to monitor the contribution of the catch to the recreational fishery. All stocked fish have been marked interanlly, its is necessary for us to obtain a piece of bone or cartilage to detect this mark. The most ideal is the otolith, however we can still visualise the mark by analysing the fin spines (see attached pick of mark). I am interested in hearing from any jewie fishers in the Sydney area that would be willing to help with the project. This would basically involve one of two things: 1. If you retain your catch, i would need you to save the freshly frozen head and snip off the first and second anal fin spine, and take a note of the length. Give me a call and i'll pick it up within a couple of days of hearing from you (if you collect the jewels, we only need one if you would be willing to donate it). 2. If you are a catch ans release fisher, i would like to meet up with you and pass on a set of vials, cutters and a sample sheet. The idea is that you take a note of the legth of the fish, and snip of the first and second anal fin spines before returning the fish to the water. We need to monitor the stockings for at least the next 5 years, so although i'm not asking for a concrete commitment, if you were in it for the long haul you would really be helping us to get some real information from this work, which in turn would mean support for similar programs in the future. We are also kicking off a mulloway stocking project in the Tweed and Richmond Rivers next year- Hope to hear from you soon (mattytaylor@unsw.edu.au)