The Black Rockcod (Epinephelus daemelii) is a large, slow-growing, long-lived reef fish that occurs in Australia along the coast of New South Wales, including at Lord Howe Island. Populations of black rockcod have been significantly reduced here due to overfishing, accidental hooking, and loss or degradation of estuarine and intertidal nursery habitats. As a result, the species is listed as ‘Vulnerable’ under both the Commonwealth Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 and the NSW Fisheries Management Act 1994. Despite having been protected from fishing in NSW since 1983, black rockcod are still taken illegally, or caught incidentally and released, which can lead to mortality post-release from embolism. Its protection status results from concerns of population declines across its range. The NSW Government has identified long-term population monitoring as a a high priority for the species’ recovery plan. Broadscale surveys of black rockcod were first conducted using the diver Underwater Visual Census (UVC) technique in 2009-11 when 83 sites were sampled from Port Stephens to Cook Island in far northern NSW, including the waters of Lord Howe Island. This NESP Marine and Coastal Hub project 3.14 funded the repeat of these broadscale surveys in 2023, with 8 additional sites (91 total) sampled using the same technique. For each black rockcod sighting, the length of the fish was visually estimated by divers, and also filmed using a diver stereo camera system where possible to obtain an exact length measurement. Other attributes recorded included the habitat the fish was found in, if the sighting was cryptic (i.e. hidden or camouflaged), and the depth of the sighting. Based on the broadscale survey sites in 2009-11, a subset of 19 key Black rockcod survey sites along mainland NSW were established These comprised of two sites in the Cape Byron Marine Park (CBMP), five sites in the Solitary Islands Marine Park (SIMP) two sites at SW Rocks (Fish Rock), and ten sites within the Port Stephens-Great Lakes Marine Park (PSGLMP). An additional 18 key sites were established at Lord Howe Island (LHIMP) and surveyed in 2011, 2019, 2023 & 2024. These surveys involved an identical methodology to the broadscale surveys, but without the use of stereo cameras as diver estimates of fish size were shown to be reasonably similar. This NESP MaC Hub project 3.14 provided funding for the resurveying of the 37 total key sites (where weather permitted) in both 2023 and 2024. The data provided by this record includes: (1) all black rockcod sightings and measurements for broadscale sites (2023) and key sites (2023 & 2024); (2) a comparison of the counts of black rockcod recorded at broadscale sites in 2009-11 (n=83) and again in 2023 (n=91); and (3) a comparison of the count of black rockcod recorded at key monitoring sites in northern NSW (n=19) and Lord Howe Island (n=18) across monitoring years 2009-2024.

Fish annotations of stereo Baited Remote Underwater Video and panoramic drop camera imagery, were completed as part of a report funded by the NESP Marine & Coastal Hub. This report focussed on an IUCN II zone in the South-west Corner Marine Park off the 'Capes region' near Margaret River. These data were analysed in EventMeasure using standard operating procedures for the annotation of remote stereo imagery.

This record provides an overview of the NESP Marine and Coastal Hub Research Plan 2023 project "Assessing changes in black rockcod abundance and size". For specific data outputs from this project, please see child records associated with this metadata. -------------------- The Black Rockcod (Epinephelus daemelii) is a large, reef-dwelling species that can live for more than 60 years. In Australia it occurs along the coast of New South Wales, including at Lord Howe Island. Black Rockcod populations have been significantly reduced here due to overfishing, accidental hooking, and loss or degradation of estuarine and intertidal nursery habitats. As a result, the species is listed as Vulnerable under Commonwealth and NSW legislation. Despite having been protected from fishing in NSW since 1983, Black Rockcod are still taken illegally, or caught incidentally and released, which can lead to mortality post-release from embolism. Long-term population monitoring is a high priority identified by the species’ recovery plan and the NSW Fisheries Scientific Committee. In 2010, a broadscale baseline survey (81 sites) was undertaken in northern NSW and Lord Howe Island, followed by smaller surveys every four to five years. This project repeated the initial 81 baseline site surveys to assess if protection measures, such as marine protected area sanctuary zones, are assisting in recovery of black rockcod. This contributed to a 13-year time series (2010 – 2023) that was used to examine distribution and population structure of rockcod to assess if recovery actions being implemented are effective. Outputs • underwater visual census (UVC) data for black rock cod [dataset] • Final project report [written]

[This data has been superseded by a synthesised global dataset which includes additional ecological data contributed by non-RLS entities (National Reef Monitoring Network). Please visit the corresponding NRMN Collection (IMOS - National Reef Monitoring Network Sub-Facility - Global off-transect species observations || Global reef fish abundance and biomass) for the most current version of this data. See "Downloads and Links" section below.] This dataset contains records of bony fishes and elasmobranchs collected by Reef Life Survey (RLS) divers along 50m transects on shallow rocky and coral reefs, worldwide. Abundance information is available for all records found within quantitative survey limits (50 x 5 m swathes during a single swim either side of the transect line, each distinguished as a Block), and out-of-survey records are identified as presence-only (Method 0). Although surveys are undertaken as part of monitoring programs at particular locations (mostly in Australia), this dataset contains does not include repeat surveys of sites.

The National Reef Monitoring Network brings together shallow reef surveys conducted around Australia into a centralised database. The IMOS National Reef Monitoring Network sub-Facility collates, cleans, stores and makes this data rapidly available from contributors including: Reef Life Survey, Parks Australia, Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (Western Australia), Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources (South Australia), Department of Primary Industries (New South Wales), Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife Service and Parks Victoria. The data provided by the National Reef Monitoring Network contributes to establishing and supporting national marine baselines, and assisting with the management of Commonwealth and State marine reserves. Reef Life Survey (RLS) and the Australian Temperate Reef Network (ATRC) aims to improve biodiversity conservation and the sustainable management of marine resources by coordinating surveys of rocky and coral reefs using scientific methods, with the ultimate goal to improve coastal stewardship. Our activities depend on the skills of marine scientists, experienced and motivated recreational SCUBA divers, partnerships with management agencies and university researchers, and active input from the ATRC partners and RLS Advisory Committee. RLS and ATRC data are freely available to the public for non-profit purposes, so not only managers, but also groups such as local dive clubs or schools may use these data to look at changes over time in their own local reefs. By making data freely available and through public outputs, RLS and ATRC aims to raise broader community awareness of the status of Australia’s marine biodiversity and associated conservation issues.

The data is quantitative abundance of fish and megafaunal invertebrates and algal % cover derived from transect based counts at a wide range of locations across Temperate Australia. The methods are described in detail in Edgar and Barrett (1997). Primarily the data are derived from transects at 5 m depth and/or 10 m depth at each site surveyed. Methods were initially developed for research on temporal changes following protection in Tasmanian MPAs (Maria Is, Tinderbox, Ninepin Point, Governor Island). The data represented by this record was collected in MPA studies and surveys interstate, and was collected from Batemans Bay (NSW). In many cases the dataset involved temporal replication (year scale).

Redmap is a primarily a website that invites the community to spot, log and map marine species that are uncommon in their region, or along particular parts of their coast. The information collected is mapped and displayed on the site, demonstrating, in time, how species distributions may be changing. Sightings are divided into two categories – those with a photo that can be ‘verified’ by a marine biologist, and sightings without photos that we call community sightings (anecdotal). All the information collected, with and without photos, is mapped and will be used in the following years to map out a ‘story’ of changes occurring in our marine environment. The main data collected includes the species sighted (normally selected from a list comprising preselected species of interest), the location, date/time and activity being undertaken. Other optional information gathered include biological data such as sex, size and weight and environmental data such as water depth and temperature and habitat. This record is associated with live data (and will subsequently change over time) and spatial elements have reduced accuracy. It is also subject to a three year embargo (ie. does not contain data less than three years old). If you wish to discuss obtaining a citable, static dataset, that is current and/or contains accurate spatial elements, please see Point of Contact.

The data is quantitative abundance of fish and megafaunal invertebrates and algal % cover derived from transect based counts at a wide range of locations across Temperate Australia. The methods are described in detail in Edgar and Barrett (1997). Primarily the data are derived from transects at 5 m depth and/or 10 m depth at each site surveyed. Methods were initially developed for research on temporal changes following protection in Tasmanian MPAs (Maria Is, Tinderbox, Ninepin Point, Governor Island). The data represented by this record was collected in MPA studies and surveys interstate, and was collected from Jurien Bay (WA). In many cases the dataset involved temporal replication (year scale).