© Baker, J.L. (2009) Marine Species of Conservation Concern in South Australia Full citation Baker, J.L. (2009) Marine Species of Conservation Concern in South Australia: Volume 1 - Bony and Cartilaginous Fishes. Report for the South Australian Working Group for Marine Species of Conservation Concern. J. Baker (consultant); Science and Conservation Division, and Coast and Marine Conservation branches of S.A. Department for Environment and Heritage (DEH); Marine and Coastal Community Network of S.A. (MCCN), and Threatened Species Network (TSN). Web version published by Reef Watch, South Australia.

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Australian Bandfish / Bandfish

Family Name:	Cepolidae
Scientific Name:	Cepola australis Ogilby, 1899
Recommended Status in S.A:	Data Deficient
Rationale:  Bandfish is included here because (i) it appears to have a limited known presence in South Australia, and very few specimens of C. australis (or a closely related species) have been recorded to date in this State; (ii) it is a strongly site-associated benthic species; (iii) it has specific habitat requirements in estuaries and other quiet coastal waters with sand or silt bottoms, and in the shallower part of the depth range, the estuarine habitats of Bandfish are often subject to pollution and other forms of degradation; (iv) it may be vulnerable to population decline due to benthic habitat degradation; however specific data are lacking; and (v) there is very little information on the distribution of this species (or its southern Australian relative) in the S.A. part of the range, and very little data on the relative abundance, biology, and ecology of this species.

Page Contents

Current Conservation Status

No listings known

Distribution

General

C. australis is found in eastern Australia, from southern Queensland to the Gippsland Lakes (Victoria), and has also been reported from Investigator Strait (South Australia) on the south coast (Hutchins and Swainston, 1986; Museum of Victoria records A8864, and A 21642; Glover, in Gomon et al., 1994). However, it is thought that records from the south coast might represent a different species (Kuiter, 1993, 2000).
Although it is not often seen, the Bandfish is relatively common in some areas, such as the deep boat channels of Sydney Harbour (Glover, in Gomon et al., 1994).
The species is rarely seen because it inhabits areas not visited by divers, and is infrequently trawled due to its burrowing lifestyle (Glover, in Gomon et al., 1994).

South Australia

Previously, the reported presence of this species in South Australia (see Hutchins and Swainston, 1986, 2001; Glover, in Gomon et al., 1994) was based on two Australian Museum specimens (I12470 and E2380), collected in Investigator Strait in 1912. More recently (in 2002), a specimen was collected from the Great Australian Bight Marine Park (South Australian Museum record F10252, cited by R. Foster, South Australian Museum, 2006).
It has been suggested that the Bandfish known from S.A. may represent a different species (Kuiter, 1993, 2000; Australian Museum, 2005a).

Habitat

The Bandfish inhabits inshore areas such as estuaries, with sand, silt and other soft sediments, at depths of several metres to more than 70m (Hutchins and Swainston, 1986; Glover, in Gomon et al., 1994; Australian Museum, 2005a). The species might occur in other nearshore habitats but to date is known only from the types specified above (M. Gomon, Museum of Victoria, pers. comm., 2006).
 The species has been recorded in “deep tidal channels, in muddy burrows” (Kuiter, 1993).

Notes on Biology and Behaviour

Growth

The Bandfish grows to between 25cm (Hutchins and Swainston, 1986) and 38cm (Glover, in Gomon et al., 1994; Australian Museum, 2005a).

Diet

Members of the family Cepolidae eat zooplankton (Glover, in Gomon et al., 1994; Smith-Vaniz, 2001).

Reproduction

Little is known of the reproduction, but it is noted that the larvae have been recorded offshore (Gray, 1993), and deep in the water column (Gray, 1996). Examples of depths at which larvae have been recorded include 10m – 70m, with higher numbers in the range 30m – 60m (Gray and Kingsford, 2003).

Other Information

The Bandfish is pink to bright red colour (Glover, in Gomon et al., 1994).

Fisheries Information

The species is not targeted, but has been recorded as a minor component of the bycatch of trawls and purse seines, and is likely to be caught only in low numbers due to its burrowing nature (M. Gomon, Museum of Victoria, pers. comm., 2006). In New South Wales, fishery-independent surveys to assess bycatch composition in the N.S.W. Ocean Trawl Fishery have been undertaken, using ocean fish trawl and prawn trawl gear. Results showed that the percentage frequency of occurrence of Bandfish Cepola australis across all trawls, was around 1% in the “ocean prawn trawl shelf sector” (New South Wales Department of Primary Industries, 2004).
The Australian Museum has a record of a bandfish caught at 40 – 45m in purse seine bycatch, in southern New South Wales (Australian Museum, 2005a).
(NB: No other fisheries information for this species could be found, for this report).

Vulnerable Characteristics of the Species

The Bandfish (or its southern Australian relative) appears to have a limited presence in South Australia, and very few specimens have been recorded to date.
Bandfish are strongly site-associated benthic fish with specific habitat requirements, such as estuaries and other coastal waters with sand or silt bottoms. One of these habitats (estuaries) used by Bandfish has a limited spatial distribution in South Australia. Estuaries are often subject to pollution and other forms of degradation (see below).

Threatening Processes

The species has been found to date mainly in estuaries and other quiet coastal waters with sand and silt bottoms. Estuaries are often subject to many pollutants, and other impacts that degrade water quality and habitat. Polluted estuarine areas can take a long time to recover as toxicants accumulate in their sediments (Pogonoski et al., 2002). There are few pristine or near pristine estuaries remaining in South Australia and most are subject to numerous impacts (see Bucher and Saenger, 1989; Lewis et al., 1998; Barnett, 2001; GeoScience Australia, 2001; Baker, 2004).
Benthic habitat degradation by trawling may be a threatening process to populations in some areas; however there are no data available. In S.A., the species has been recorded in benthic habitat in Investigator Strait, which is part of the trawl grounds for the Gulf St Vincent prawn fishery. Tanner (2003, 2005) provided details of the negative effects of trawling on benthic habitats in Gulf St Vincent.  Because Cepola species are burrowers, they mostly avoid capture by trawls; hence trawling is not a significant threatening process (M. Gomon, Museum of Victoria, pers. comm., 2006).

Research Requirements

Given that there are so few records of this species in S.A., and the few museum records are almost a century old, the current presence and distribution of this species in South Australia should be determined if possible. However it is noted that, given the burrowing habit of the Bandfish, it is difficult to determine whether the population of this species on the south coast is of “normal” or sparse size (Glover, in Gomon et al., 1994).
The bycatch of this species in prawn and fish trawl fisheries in State- and Commonwealth-managed waters in southern Australia should be quantified.
Fish currently identified as C. australis may represent more than one species. Further taxonomic work on specimens from across the geographic range is needed (Australian Museum, 2005a).
There is very little information on the biology and ecology of this species.

Management Requirements

Measures to reduce ongoing physical, chemical, biological and ecological degradation of estuaries may be important for populations of estuarine-dependent benthic fish. Measures to restore degraded estuaries are equally significant. It is noted that an Estuaries Policy and Action Plan has recently been developed in South Australia (DEH South Australia, 2005), to address the issues of estuarine degradation and restoration, and it is important that the recommendations in this policy be implemented as far as possible by government, industry and community.