Golden snapper around Darwin remain overfished, with around one fifth of their original population left, and with fishing mortality rates estimated to be more than double the rate considered sustainable, which will prevent stocks from recovering, the Golden Snapper Stock Assessment report says.

The report, released on Monday, said that based on most recent scientific data, golden snapper stocks in the greater Darwin region were classified as depleting, but were sustainable in other parts of the Northern Territory. A separate stock assessment for black jewfish is also underway and expected to be completed by the end of this year.

It said stock assessments undertaken in 2011 and 2014 concluded golden snapper were overfished in the NT, and as a result, in 2015, the bag limit was reduced by 50 per cent in the Darwin region, and reef fish protection areas were also introduced. However in 2018, an updated stock assessment, that considered data up to and including 2017, indicated that stocks in the greater Darwin region remained overfished and that existing fishing pressure would likely maintain the level of overfishing.

The latest assessment of numbers was done in 2021, but the report has only now been released.

The report said the biomass of golden snapper in the greater Darwin region was critically low, at 21 per cent of its original, unfished level, meaning only about a fifth of their original population remains.

“The percentage could be as low as 13 per cent or as high as 29 per cent,” the report said.

“Forecasting the biomass trajectory…suggests that stocks are unlikely to recover from the critically low level.”

The report said golden snapper serve as an indicator species for other inshore reef fish in the region that are slow growing, long lived, but lack sufficient data for individual stock assessments. They are the grass emperor, mangrove jack, red emperor, cods, red snappers, and blackspot tuskfish.

“The depleting stock status of golden snapper indicates that high levels of fishing in the greater Darwin region may also be depleting stocks of other reef fish species,” the report said.

The report said that in 2023, the Coastal Line Fishery Harvest Strategy was implemented to manage the catch of inshore reef fish in the Territory across all fishing sectors, and outlined the need to undertake regular stock assessments of golden snapper, and includes pre‐determined management actions to control fishing mortality should stocks be lower than the desirable level.

Fisheries Minister Gerard Maley said Labor had not done anything to improve golden snapper stocks, and failed to release reports, provide updates or share data with amateur anglers, but said Fisheries NT would create a recovery plan prepared in consultation with key stakeholders and to be released for public consultation. The report said this plan was expected to take 12 months to complete.

“This is yet another legacy of failures that the CLP has inherited from the previous Labor Government, a mess that has left us in a difficult no-win situation,” Mr Maley said.

“It is now up to the CLP Government to make the tough decisions necessary to reverse the damage caused by Labor’s neglect, and restore fish stocks.

“We will now work through the new data and make evidence-based decisions to address overfishing and help restore snapper stocks.

“There are a number of options available to improve stock numbers and all of these will be considered in detail with stakeholders.

“We know how much Territorians love their fishing. We don’t want to limit access for fishos, but we understand the critical importance of fish sustainability for future generations.”

Mr Maley said inshore reef fish in the greater Darwin region were subject to high levels of fishing pressure, because of a range of factors including slow growth, late maturity and a preference to gather in groups for shelter, feeding or spawning, along with advances in fishing technology, such as fish finding, positioning and gear improvements, increases effectiveness of fishing.