© 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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Southern Red Scorpionfish / Southern Rock Cod / Red Rock Cod / Common Red Gurnard / Southern Red Scorpion Cod / Common Red Rock Cod

Family Name:	Scorpaenidae
Scientific Name:	Scorpaena papillosa (Bloch and Schneider, 1801) (= Scorpaena papillosus)
Recommended Status in S.A:	Data Deficient
Rationale:  Southern Red Scorpionfish is included here because (i) like other members of the Neosebastidae, it is a benthic, site-associated reef fish of limited mobility, and these characteristics increase the species’ vulnerability to site-specific impacts; (ii) the species is part of the bycatch in some of the Commonwealth-managed fisheries in southern Australia (and is listed as a species at “medium risk” of population impact from capture in the South East Trawl Fishery), and is also a minor bycatch species in a number of State-based fisheries, but there are no species-specific data for South Australia; (iii) some of the habitats in which this species occurs (particularly juveniles) include kelp beds, shallow seagrass beds, and estuaries, and thus processes that damage such nearshore habitats may adversely affect populations in some areas; (iv) given the strong site association and limited dispersal ability of scorpionfishes, dredging and other physical damage to shallow, soft bottom habitats may adversely affect populations at localised scales, but there are no specific data, and (v) there is no knowledge of population sizes or population dynamics, and, apart from dietary studies, little information on the biology (particularly fecundity, annual recruitment strength, and longevity).

Page Contents

Current Conservation Status

no listings known

Distribution

Southern Australia and New Zealand

In Australia, the Southern Red Scorpionfish is found in central and southern New South Wales, Victoria, all around Tasmania, and South Australia (Hutchins and Swainston, 1986; Poss, in Gomon et al., 1994; Edgar, 2000; M. Gomon, Museum of Victoria, pers. comm. to R. Foster, S.A. Museum, 2006). Many of the published records of this species are from eastern Victoria and eastern Tasmania (Museum of Victoria records, cited in OZCAM database, 2007), and species is reported to be commonly encountered in nearshore waters in Victoria and Tasmania (Hutchins and Swainston, 1986; Plummer et al., 2003). The species also occurs in New Zealand (both north and south islands) (Francis, 1996; Department of Conservation, New Zealand, 2003; Roberts et al., 2005), and at the Chatham Islands (Roberts, 1991), Stewart I. and Snares Is. (Francis, 1996).

South Australia

Great Australian Bight is likely to be the western limit (M. Gomon, Museum of Victoria, pers. comm., 2006).
There are few published records for South Australia. Examples of locations in S.A. in which the Southern Rock Cod has been recorded include the Great Australian Bight (e.g. GAB Marine Park, at the head of the Bight); eastern side of GAB / western Eyre Peninsula (e.g. Point Labatt); Port Lincoln area in south-western Spencer Gulf; Fleurieu Peninsula (e.g. Second Valley); deeper, continental slope waters off southern Kangaroo Island (CSIRO Marine Research record, 1988, species identify unconfirmed), and Encounter Bay area (including Newland Head, and the Victor Harbor area) (Hutchins and Swainston, 1986; Australian Anglers Association Inc., W.A. Division, 2002a; SARDI data, 2002; Currie and Sorokin, 2005; Edgar et al. 2006; R. Foster, South Australian Museum, pers. comm., 2006; Museum of Victoria record, cited in OZCAM database, 2007).

Habitat

The Southern Rock Cod occurs in a variety of habitat types.
The species is commonly recorded on rocky bottoms, including nearshore reefs covered with kelp (including Ecklonia) and other brown macroalgae (e.g. Cystophora species), and with sponges in deeper waters (May and Maxwell, 1986; Kuiter, 1996a; Willis and Anderson, 2003). In some areas, the species shelters in reef crevices. For example, a study in reef habitat in New Zealand showed that S. papillosa often dwells in caves and holes in the reef, and the density of this species was significantly correlated with structural complexity of the reef (Willis and Anderson, 2003).
Small animals are very common on coastal reefs in Victoria and Tasmania, and larger animals live mainly in deeper water (Edgar, 2000).
Although the species is commonly recorded on macroalgae-covered reefs in New Zealand, it is also known from other habitats in that country, such as urchin barrens (Willis and Anderson, 2003), and habitats at the bottom of fiords, including black coral stands (Ryan, 2006).
Juveniles are occasionally seen in large rock pools (May and Maxwell, 1986, cited in Froese and Pauly, 2007).
The species is also known from shallow estuaries (including mud and silt environments) (Kuiter, 1993, cited in Froese and Pauly, 2007; Kuiter, 1996a; Department of Conservation, N.Z., 2003).
According to Jordan et al. (1998), the species has also been recorded on sand, and in shallow seagrass beds (such as Posidonia australis and Heterozostera nigricaulis), in Tasmania. Similarly in Victoria, Parry et al., 1990 (cited by Plummer et al., 2003) also reported the species from subtidal soft sediments.
The published depth range in southern Australia is 1m – 130m (Edgar, 2000). There are unconfirmed records from continental slope waters (e.g. CSIRO Marine Research data, cited in CSIRO, 2007).

Notes on the Biology and Behaviour

Growth

The species grows to a maximum length of about 37cm. The maximum weight is reported to be 0.618kg, based on a specimen that was taken from Victor Harbor (S.A.) in 1967 (Hutchins and Swainston, 1986, 2001; Australian Anglers Association Inc., W.A. Division, 2002a).

Diet and Feeding Behaviour

Southern Rock Cod eats fish, and benthic crustaceans (Coleman and Mobley, 1984, and Paulin and Roberts, 1992, cited in Froese and Pauly, 2007). The species has a large mouth, and is capable of swallowing comparatively large fish prey.  
The Southern Rock Cod is a nocturnal predator (May and Maxwell, 1986, cited in Froese and Pauly, 2007). The species often remains still throughout the daylight hours, but at night becomes much more active, and can be found in more exposed locations. S. papillosa uses vision to feed during the day, but at night prey capture is assisted by the mechano-sensory lateral line (Montgomery and Hamilton, 1997; Bassett, 2004, 2006). The species has been observed foraging effectively in broken, heterogenous reef, for both cryptic and conspicuous prey (Bassett and Montgomery, 2005).

Fisheries Information

Commercial – Commonwealth Fisheries

The species is frequently taken by commercial fishers using trawls and dredges in shallow southern waters (Gomon et al., 1994). The Southern Rock Cod is recorded as part of the bycatch in the SESSF (AFMA, 2002a) and other fisheries in south-eastern Australia.
In the Southern Shark Fishery, experiments and fishery observations during 1973-76 and 1998-2001 (Walker et al., 2003) showed that S. papillosa is vulnerable to shark hooks of various sizes, but not to shark gillnets. The species was recorded in low numbers (i.e. 22 specimens, with SE also 22), during a bycatch sampling program in Tasmania, from 1973 to 1976 (Walker et al., 2003). 
In 2000/2001, fishers’ logbooks in the South East Trawl Fishery recorded a bycatch of 2.2 tonnes of “rock cod” species (AFMA, 2002a), which likely referred to S. papillosa and the eastern species S. cardinalis. In the otter trawl sub-fishery of the South East Trawl Fishery, an Integrated Scientific Monitoring Program during the early 2000s, reported that in 104 trawl shots, about 321kg of S. papillosa were retained, and 41 kg were discarded (Wayte et al., 2004).
In the Commonwealth-managed Small Pelagic Fishery, an observer program during 2002-2003 showed that S. papillosa is a very minor part of the bycatch (AFMA, 2004c).

Commercial – State Fisheries

There are museum records of specimens that were taken by commercial fishing in the Port Phillip Bay and Bass Strait area (Anonymous, 2002b, cited in Froese and Pauly, 2007; Museum of Victoria records, cited in OZCAM database, 2007).
In Tasmania, the species has been recorded as part of the bycatch in the Bass Strait Central Zone Scallop Fishery. During a survey in 2000, 2 specimens of S. papillosa were recorded in 7 scallop tows, and the species has been recorded in both low density and high density scallop tows (Semmens et al., 2000). 
In Tasmania, under the Tasmanian Fisheries (Scalefish) Rules 2004, Regulation 100, there is a commercial fishing possession limitation of a maximum of 3 S. papillosa per licence holder per day, due to the development of a separate aquarium trade (see below).
S. papillosa is collected in Tasmania for the aquarium industry. The permitted annual catch limit is 300 individuals, with a fishing block limit (6 x 6 nautical miles) of 50 individuals (DPIWE Tasmania, 2005b; Australian Government DEH, 2005b). In 2006, specimens were being advertised for sale through a Tasmanian aquarium supply company.
Although W.A. is not part of the species’ published distribution, it is noted that fishery logbook data cited by AFMA (2004f) reported that S. papillosa was a minor bycatch species (i.e. 30 specimens) in the Western Deepwater Trawl Fishery (WDWTF) fishery, during 2002-2003. The species was not recorded in the bycatch in other years between 1992 and 2002. It is not known for this report whether the recording of S. papillosa in the WDWTF (which operates in deeper water than the reported depth limit of this species) was a species identification error. It is noted that Bromhead and Bolton (2005) reported this species to be a retained by-product in the WDWTF.

Recreational

The Southern Rock Cod is an edible species (Hutchins and Swainston, 2001) taken by some anglers. Some clubs and associations keep records of the maximum sizes caught (e.g. Australian Anglers Association Inc., W.A. Division, 2002a, 2003, 2005).
It is noted that in the National Recreational and Indigenous Fishing Survey (Henry and Lyle, 2003, and associated data), results for all species in the Scorpaenidae and Neosebastidae were aggregated, hence it is difficult to determine species-specific catches. Aggregated catches of gurnard perches and scorpion fishes are listed above, in the synopsis for Neosebastes bougainvillii.

Vulnerable Characteristics of the Species

Like other members of the Scorpaenidae, the Southern Rock Cod is a benthic, site-associated reef fish of limited mobility, and these characteristics increase the species’ vulnerability to site-specific impacts, and to capture by fishing methods such as trawling (particularly in the eastern States, the main part of the species’ distribution).
The Southern Rock Cod is reported to have low resilience to exploitation, in terms of minimum population doubling time (Froese and Pauly, 2007).

Threatening Processes

In south-eastern Australia, bycatch of this species in trawl fisheries may be the main threatening process to populations. For example, in a draft ecological risk assessment of the South East Trawl and Danish Seine Fishery (Wayte et al., 2004), 3 “productivity attributes” and 6 “attributes of susceptibility” were used to categorise Scorpaena papillosa as a “medium risk” species; i.e. susceptible to population impacts from trawling. However, in South Australia, which is at the edge of the range, the species appears to be much less abundant compared with Victoria and Tasmania, and the limited available data suggest that the Southern Rock Cod is not a significant part of the bycatch in trawl fisheries in South Australian State waters.
Some of the habitats in which this species occurs (particularly juveniles) include kelp beds, shallow seagrass beds, and estuaries, and thus processes that damage such nearshore habitats may adversely affect populations in some areas.

Research Requirements

More information is required on the distribution and abundance within the range, and the biology and population dynamics of this species (particularly fecundity, annual recruitment strength, and longevity).
Data are required on the numbers taken by commercial and recreational fishers across the range (including South Australia), in relation to required studies of abundance.

Management Requirements

Where possible, measures are required to reduce the bycatch of benthic fishes (such as those in Neosebastidae and Scorpaenidae) in Commonwealth- and State-managed trawl fisheries, and also in other fisheries (e.g. shark hooks, scallop dredges, etc).
In States other than Tasmania (where regulations already exist), recreational fishing regulations (e.g. size limits and bag limits) are recommended to regulate the capture of benthic, site-associated fishes such as members of the Scorpaenidae and Neosebastidae.

Other Information

In New Zealand, Scorpaena papillosa is called the “Dwarf Scorpionfish”. The species occurs in a number of existing and proposed marine reserves in New Zealand, with examples of existing reserves including Leigh (Cape Rodney - Okakari Point), Te Angiangi (Aramoana - Blackhead, Central Hawke’s Bay), Sugar Loaf Islands (Ngä Motu), Goat Island, and the Poor Knights Islands (Anonymous, 1993, 2001a; Department of Conservation, New Zealand, 2003; Seafriends Marine Conservation and Education Centre NZ, 2004; Miller et al., 2005).
The Southern Rock Cod is found in some of the marine parks and sanctuaries in Victoria, such as Point Hicks Marine National Park, where it is reported to be common on subtidal soft sediments (Parry et al., 1990, cited by Plummer et al., 2003), and Wilson Promontory (Edmunds et al., 2003).  
The species has been recorded in the Great Australian Bight Marine Park (SARDI data, 2002, cited by R. Foster, South Australian Museum, pers. comm., 2006).