Recreational Fish Habitat Criteria for Major Victorian Bays and Inlets

Major Victorian bays and inlets, including Port Phillip Bay, Western Port, Corner Inlet, and Gippsland Lakes, are the focus of this dataset. It contains a scientific review and criteria for identifying key habitat locations for six recreational marine fish species: King George whiting, snapper, sand flathead, calamari, black bream, and gummy shark. The work was commissioned by the Victorian Fisheries Authority, produced by the University of Melbourne, and later digitized by the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action.

Use Cases

• Identifying priority conservation zones based on habitat criteria for key recreational fish species.
• Modeling species distribution for King George whiting, snapper, and other listed species within Victorian bays.
• Informing spatial management plans for recreational fishing based on mapped habitat locations.
• Supporting environmental impact assessments for coastal development using defined habitat criteria.

Strengths

• Focuses on six specific recreational fish species: King George whiting, snapper, sand flathead, calamari, black bream, and gummy shark.
• Covers four major Victorian water bodies: Port Phillip Bay, Western Port, Corner Inlet, and Gippsland Lakes.
• Data is available in multiple geospatial formats, including SHP, GDB, and DWG.
• Commissioned by the authoritative Victorian Fisheries Authority and produced by the University of Melbourne.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.

Provenance

Source

University of Melbourne, commissioned by the Victorian Fisheries Authority, digitized by the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action.

Collection Method

Scientific review and criteria development, later digitized.

Time Range

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Freshness

Last updated 2026-04 08 21:13:33.594128; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Port Phillip Bay, Western Port, Corner Inlet, and Gippsland Lakes in Victoria, Australia.