2019 Spanner Crab Survey

The objectives of the spanner crab survey are to obtain fishery-independent catch-per-unit-effort data, record length frequency and sex ratio data, identify interactions with species of conservation interest, and monitor bycatch composition.
The survey aims to collect a fishery independent index of abundance for the East coast Spanner crab stock. The survey is completed once every calendar year, across each of the five regions within Queensland’s managed area A (C2) fishery area (see Map below). A similar survey is completed in NSW waters. The survey data are used every two years, in combination with commercial fishery catch rate data to set the bi-annual quota for the fishery. The customer is seeking to engage up to 5 suitably experienced contractors to deliver the survey services for each region, conducted at the same time and will take five consecutive working days between April 29th and May 3rd, 2019.