Information briefs and risk analyses for species under consideration ...

Risk analysis and evaluation
STOCK: Orange perch (Lepidoperca aurantia)
Severity/likelihood risk analysis:
Generic objective 1: Risk to maintaining the potential of the stock to meet the
reasonably foreseeable needs of future generations.
Analysis:
Total reported landings of orange perch are low and although there appears to be a small target fishery, the
majority of orange perch is taken as a bycatch in bottom trawl fisheries in QMAs 4 and 5. Over the last five
years catches have fluctuated between 19 and 217 tonnes. Over the same period the percentage of reported
catch discarded has varied between 0% and 39%, with the high discarding percentages occurring in years with
low catch. This may suggest that not all catch that is discarded is reported. However analysis of observer data
from the squid trawl fishery, one of the main target fisheries taking orange perch as a bycatch, showed that
orange perch did not feature in the top 50 bycatch species by weight, suggesting that catch of orange perch is
likely to be low.
While there is no information available on the productivity of orange perch, given its wide distribution and low
catch there is unlikely to be a sustainability concern for this species.
Severity of impact (low, medium or high): Low
Likelihood of impact (low, medium or high): Low
Risk score (1-9) : 1
Generic objective 2: Risk to avoiding, remedying or mitigating any adverse effects of
fishing on the aquatic environment.
Analysis:
Although taken by bottom trawl, the risk of adverse effects on the aquatic environment from catch of orange
perch is low as there is only a small target fishery for the species and total catch is low.
Nothing is known of the habitat interactions or of the ecosystem role of orange perch.
Severity of impact (low, medium or high) : Low
Likelihood of impact (low, medium or high) : Low
Risk score (1-9) : 1
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