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Stock structure of Grey Mackerel, Scomberomorus semifasciatus (Pisces: Scombridae) across northern Australia, based on otolith stable isotope chemistry

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Abstract

The stable isotopes of δ18O and δ13C in sagittal otolith carbonates were used to determine the stock structure of Grey Mackerel, Scomberomorus semifasciatus. Otoliths were collected from Grey Mackerel at ten locations representing much of their distributional and fisheries range across northern Australia from 2005 to 2007. Across this broad range (∼ 6500 km), fish from four broad locations—Western Australia (S1), Northern Territory and Gulf of Carpentaria (S2, S3, S4, S5, S6, S7), Queensland east coast mid and north sites (S8, S9) and Queensland east coast south site (S10)—had stable isotope values that were significantly different indicating stock separation. Otolith stable isotopes differed more between locations than among years within a location, indicating temporal stability across years. The spatial separation of these populations indicates a complex stock structure across northern Australia. Stocks of S. semifasciatus appear to be associated with large coastal embayments. These results indicate that optimal fisheries management may require a review of the current spatial arrangements, particularly in relation to the evidence of shared stocks in the Gulf of Carpentaria. Furthermore, as the population of S. semifasciatus in Western Australia exhibited high spatial separation from those at all the other locations examined, further research activities should focus on investigating additional locations within Western Australia for an enhanced determination of stock delineation.

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge funding from the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC) for this project. This work was undertaken as part of FRDC Project No. 2005/010. Iso-Analytical Limited (Sandbach, UK) carried out the stable isotope analyses. Logistical support was provided by the Department of Fisheries, Government of Western Australia. The authors are grateful to the mackerel fishers of Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland for assistance in obtaining fish samples.

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Correspondence to Stephen J. Newman.

Appendix 1

Appendix 1

Table 5 Summary of the sampling data, and results from the stable isotope analyses of the sagittal otolith carbonate of Scomberomorus semifasciatus from locations across northern Australia (WA = Western Australia; NT = Northern Territory; QLD = Queensland; GoC = Gulf of Carpentaria). More specific locations details are listed in the methods section

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Newman, S.J., Wright, I.W., Rome, B.M. et al. Stock structure of Grey Mackerel, Scomberomorus semifasciatus (Pisces: Scombridae) across northern Australia, based on otolith stable isotope chemistry. Environ Biol Fish 89, 357–367 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-010-9668-z

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