Tasmanian Recreational Rock Lobster Catch and Effort Data, 2002-2025

Recreational rock lobster fishing data spanning 23 seasons from 2002/03 to 2024/25 across eight Tasmanian assessment areas. The dataset includes estimated catch in kilograms and lobster numbers, estimated fishing effort in days, and catch rates compiled from survey reports by IMAS. Data collection involves a phone-diary survey of randomly sampled license-holders during the November to April fishing season.

Use Cases

• Analyzing trends in recreational rock lobster catch over time based on the 23-year time series
• Comparing fishing efficiency across different methods (pot, ring, dive) based on reported catch rates
• Assessing spatial variation in recreational fishing pressure across the eight Tasmanian assessment areas
• Modeling population dynamics of Southern and Eastern Rock Lobsters based on catch estimates

Strengths

• Long-term temporal coverage spanning 23 fishing seasons from 2002/03 to 2024/25
• Spatially disaggregated data for eight distinct assessment areas in Tasmania
• Includes multiple metrics: catch (weight and count), effort (days), and catch rate

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment
• Data may reflect temporal and geographic bias inherent to the survey methodology

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Compiled from Tasmanian Recreational Rock Lobster and Abalone Fisheries survey reports produced by IMAS, based on a phone-diary survey of randomly sampled license-holders.

Time Range

2002/03 to 2024/25

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-05 22:47:14.546930; freshness should be verified

Geography

Eight assessment areas in Tasmania