DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES ANNUAL REPORT TO THE ...

AgENCy PERFORMANCE � CASE STUDy 2
Send Us Your Skeletons helps
fisheries science
Fishers who participated in the ‘Send Us Your
Skeletons’ initiative provided the Department’s
research division with fish skeletons of a number of
demersal fish (thosse that live on or near the sea
bottom) and nearshore fish species, along with the
particulars of their catch, including when and where
the fish were caught.
Researchers needed the filleted fish skeletons
– with head and guts intact – to support research
into key finfish species from the West Coast
Bioregion (north of Kalbarri to east of Augusta),
such as Western Australian dhufish, pink snapper
and Australian herring.
Analysing data collected from fish frames
is one of the best ways that fisheries scientists
can assess the health of fish stocks, which is
used to help manage WA’s prized fish stocks more
effectively and ensure there are ‘fish for the future’.
Important information that is collected from fish
skeletons includes the length, sex and reproductive
stage, and age of the fish.
Recreational fishers were encouraged to drop
off their fish skeletons at Department of Fisheries’
regional offices and participating tackle stores.
The recreational fishing industry provided great
support for ‘Send Us Your Skeletons’ by providing
a number of incentives for skeleton donation.
Those fishers who gave their fish frames to the
Fisheries researcher Josh Brown and volunteer Laurie Birchall
demonstrate how to remove fillets from a fish and donate its
skeleton. Photo: Matthew Terwey
Department went into a prize draw for a number
of prizes donated by industry, including a weeklong
charter fishing trip to the Montebello Islands,
courtesy of Montebello Island Charters.
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