Improved estimates of growth for wild Yellowtail Kingfish (Seriola lalandi) off eastern-Australia using multiple data sources

Stewart, J; Stuart, S; Hughes, JM; Booth, DJ

Improved estimates of growth for wild Yellowtail Kingfish (Seriola lalandi) off eastern-Australia using multiple data sources

Stewart, J Stuart, S Hughes, JM Booth, DJ

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Publisher:: Frontiers
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Frontiers in Fish Science, 4, pp. 1733032

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Stewart, J
dc.contributor.author	Stuart, S
dc.contributor.author	Hughes, JM
dc.contributor.author	Booth, DJ
dc.date.accessioned	2026-04-13T06:27:45Z
dc.date.available	2026-04-13T06:27:45Z
dc.identifier.citation	Frontiers in Fish Science, 4, pp. 1733032
dc.identifier.issn	2813-9097
dc.identifier.issn	2813-9097
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/194685
dc.description.abstract	Unbiased growth functions are imperative for stock assessment and sustainable management of fisheries. We present a case-study demonstrating implications of data collection biases from fishery-dependent sampling where length-selective fishing occurs. Yellowtail Kingfish Seriola lalandi supports substantial fisheries around the world and is the focus of a developing aquaculture industry. Estimating growth rates in wild populations has been challenging, with uncertainties around accurate estimates of length-at-age from which to model growth. Length-at-age data are generally derived from sectioned sagittal otoliths. We generated new estimates of growth rates for Yellowtail Kingfish from south-eastern Australia by excluding data for age classes not fully recruited to the fishery based on significance tests of normality and skewness. New length-at-age estimates for young fish were generated from dive surveys around offshore Fish Aggregation Devices (FADs) to inform early growth. Otolith-derived age classes younger than 5 years old were biased in terms of faster growing individuals being sampled. Length-selective biases from fishery dependent sampling results in over-estimation of the von Bertalanffy growth function parameter L∞ and under-estimation of the parameters K and t0. Revised growth function parameters of L∞ = 133.40 cm fork length, K = 0.13 year -1, and t0 = −1.20 years are substantially different from those used for stock assessment. We recommend that future studies of growth rates would benefit from more fishery-independent sampling, the collection of greater numbers of larger and older fish, and regular sampling and direct aging of young-of-the year fish recruiting to offshore FADs.
dc.language	en
dc.publisher	Frontiers
dc.relation.ispartof	Frontiers in Fish Science
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.3389/frish.2026.1733032
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.title	Improved estimates of growth for wild Yellowtail Kingfish (Seriola lalandi) off eastern-Australia using multiple data sources
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	4
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science/School of Life Sciences
utslib.copyright.status	open_access	*
dc.rights.license	This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.date.updated	2026-04-13T06:27:44Z
pubs.publication-status	Published online
pubs.volume	4

Abstract:

Unbiased growth functions are imperative for stock assessment and sustainable management of fisheries. We present a case-study demonstrating implications of data collection biases from fishery-dependent sampling where length-selective fishing occurs. Yellowtail Kingfish Seriola lalandi supports substantial fisheries around the world and is the focus of a developing aquaculture industry. Estimating growth rates in wild populations has been challenging, with uncertainties around accurate estimates of length-at-age from which to model growth. Length-at-age data are generally derived from sectioned sagittal otoliths. We generated new estimates of growth rates for Yellowtail Kingfish from south-eastern Australia by excluding data for age classes not fully recruited to the fishery based on significance tests of normality and skewness. New length-at-age estimates for young fish were generated from dive surveys around offshore Fish Aggregation Devices (FADs) to inform early growth. Otolith-derived age classes younger than 5 years old were biased in terms of faster growing individuals being sampled. Length-selective biases from fishery dependent sampling results in over-estimation of the von Bertalanffy growth function parameter L∞ and under-estimation of the parameters K and t0. Revised growth function parameters of L∞ = 133.40 cm fork length, K = 0.13 year -1, and t0 = −1.20 years are substantially different from those used for stock assessment. We recommend that future studies of growth rates would benefit from more fishery-independent sampling, the collection of greater numbers of larger and older fish, and regular sampling and direct aging of young-of-the year fish recruiting to offshore FADs.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/194685