The Great Australian Bight Sector at a glance

The Great Australian Bight Trawl Sector (GABTS) extends from Cape Leeuwin, Western Australia, to Cape Jervis near Kangaroo Island, South Australia.

The Sector excludes State (SA and WA) fishery shelf waters to the extreme east and west which have traditionally been fished by State based fishers.

At a glance
Target species	The Sector is primarily a demersal (bottom) and developmental mid-water trawl sector based on regular trawling of inshore species and periodic trawling for the deeper dwelling species. The GABTS is based on demersal catches from two distinct depth regions: the shelf/upper slope fishery and the deepwater slope fishery. The shelf fishery extends approximately out to the 400 metre isobath, however the majority of the catch is taken from depths of 100-200 metres at the 'head' of the Bight where trawling occurs in water less than 200 metres in depth. The predominant shelf species taken is deepwater flathead and the next major species is Bight redfish. The deepwater slope fishery is seasonal and targets orange roughy and oreo dories in waters deeper than 600 metres.
No. of Fishing Concessions	10
Estimated Value 2003-04	Catch – 5,781,700 tonnes Value - $14,094,500
Main markets	Mainly domestic, some export to Europe
Fishing techniques	Otter trawl, some midwater trawling
Stock status	GABTS, deepwater flathead and Bight redfish not overfished – Orange roughy uncertain. Bureau of Rural Sciences status report 2006

Great Australian Bight Trawl Sector