King George whiting on the wane?
Despite forecasts of diminishing stocks, Vic anglers find the whiting are bitingDespite scientists forecasting a dip in Port Phillip Bay stocks, anglers have the King George whiting have been biting with bag limit catches for those in the know and charter skipper like Reel Time Fishing.
But while King George whiting fishing in Port Phillip Bay this season has been very good, the high quality fishing is likely to be short-lived given surveys have detected very poor juvenile whiting numbers in seagrass nurseries in 2014 and 2015.
Natural climate-driven variation in juvenile whiting numbers that settle in the bay is entirely normal. But given low numbers have been seen two years in a row, it is expected that stocks of takeable King George whiting will be impacted between 2017 and 2019.
The good news is that the impact of poor recruitment will be lessened given that 87 per cent of the commercial netting catch for species also targeted by recreational anglers, including King George whiting, has been removed from the bay as part of the State Government’s Target One Million plan.
These surveys are undertaken annually in spring by fisheries scientists. They sample little whiting of two to three centimetres in length in seagrass beds shortly after they enter Port Phillip Bay from coastal spawning sites well to the west.
The juvenile whiting take about two years to grow to 27cm, which is legal minimum size. They then leave our bays by age three to four and complete their adult life in ocean waters. This type of life-cycle contributes to a highly variable fishery that is largely dependent on the magnitude of juvenile settlement in the shallows several years prior.
The recent terrific King George whiting fishing in the bay was thanks to a strong settlement in 2013 that had grown and now entered the fishery.
Anglers are reminded that the daily bag limit on King George whiting is 20 per person and that fish should be landed whole so Fisheries Officers can measure them if required.
So fish by the rules, catch only as many whiting as you need, and enjoy the stellar fishing in Port Phillip Bay while Mother Nature lays it on.
Photo Credit: Matt Cini from Reel Time Charters with some recent and decent KGWs, as in King George whiting. Yum.
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