© 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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Tiger Pipefish

Family Name:	Syngnathidae
Scientific Name:	Filicampus tigris (Castelnau, 1879)
Recommended Status in S.A:	Data Deficient
Rationale:  Tiger Pipefish is included here because (i) it is a species of syngnathid, from a family whose members are considered to have vulnerable population characteristics; (ii) this tropical and sub-tropical species has a limited geographic distribution in S.A., and is known from Spencer Gulf, and an unverified record in GSV; (iii) the species forms pair bonds, and is strongly site-associated with seagrass beds, which increases its vulnerability to site-specific impacts; (iv) given the distribution, habitat and currently known depth range, the species is likely to occur in prawn trawling grounds in South Australia, but there are no species-specific data; (v) in some areas, alteration and degradation of such nearshore habitats may be a potential threat to the survival of this species, with examples including dredging of channels (for maintenance etc), seagrass decline from residential, industrial, and rural discharges into coastal waters (from point sources and diffuse sources), coastal developments, trawling / netting in seagrass beds, power boating (and consequent disturbance of benthic habitat, and siltation) in shallow waters where the species is present; and (v) within S.A., little is known of the full distribution and depth range, critical habitats, population sizes, basic biology, ecology, and population responses to habitat degradation and bycatch mortality.

Page Contents

Current Conservation Status

All syngnathids are subject to the export controls of the Commonwealth Wildlife Protection (Regulation of Exports and Imports) Act 1982 from 1 January 1998.
All syngnathids and solenostomids are listed marine species under s248 of the EPBC Act 1999
Protected from capture in N.S.W., from July 1^st, 2004
Since January 2006, fishes in the Syngnathidae (seadragons, pipefish, pipehorses) have been formally protected in South Australia, under the Fisheries (General) Variation Regulations 2006 of the South Australian Fisheries Act.
 

Distribution

Australia

Filicampus tigris is mainly a tropical and sub-tropical species, known from Keppel Bay and Moreton Bay in Queensland; N.S.W. (including Sydney Harbour – where it is reported to be common, Port Jackson, Port Hacking, Nelson Bay), Spencer Gulf in S.A., and locations along south-western, central and northern coast of W.A. (e.g. Rottnest I., Shark Bay, Port Hedland and Broome) (Dawson, 1985; Kuiter, 1996a, 2000; Australian Museum records, W.A Museum records, CSIRO Marine Research records, cited in OZCAM database, 2007; W.A. Catch and Effort Statistics System data, cited in Department of Fisheries, W.A., 2004b). It is noted that there are specimen records, purported to be F. tigris, from Victoria, and eastern Bass Strait (e.g. CSIRO Ichthyology data, Australian National Fish Collection, cited in OZCAM database, 2007).  
 

South Australia

There are few records from southern Australia (Dawson, in Gomon et al., 1994). In South Australia, Tiger Pipefish has been recorded mostly from Spencer Gulf, with records including the Port Lincoln area in lower Spencer Gulf (Dawson, in Gomon et al., 1994); the Shoalwater Point area in mid Spencer Gulf (S.A. Museum records, 1982); and various sites in upper Spencer Gulf (Kuiter, 1996b; SARDI data 2003+), including Port Pirie area, and records from mid-gulf waters between Fisherman Bay / Port Broughton area in the east, and Plank Point in the west (P. Jennings, SARDI, unpublished survey data, 2003). More recent SARDI surveys in northern and central Spencer Gulf have also recorded this species at various sites (S. Shepherd, pers. comm., 2007). There is an unverified record from Rapid Bay in south-eastern Gulf St Vincent (GSV), from August 1998 (cited in Baker, 2005a). In 2003, the diver who reported Tiger Pipefish at Rapid Bay stated that the specimen observed matched F. tigris, and no other pipefish pictured in syngnathid identification texts.
Despite the mainly tropical distribution of this species, IMCRA Technical Group (1996) considered Filicampus tigris to be one of the indicator species for the Gulfs Province in South Australia, which comprises Spencer Gulf and GSV, and Kangaroo I., extending out to the shelf break, with a western boundary at Port Lincoln, and the eastern edge just east of Kangaroo Island.
 

Habitat

The species is usually found near the entrance of deeper estuarine areas, on mud, sand, rubble or rocky bottom, with “sparse plant life” (Dawson, 1985; Kuiter, 1996b; Hyndes et al., 1999; Edgar, 2000). Tiger Pipefish are commonly found in (and along the edges of) seagrass beds. In Queensland (e.g. Jelbart, 2004; Jelbart et al., 2006) and N.S.W. (e.g. Gray et al., 1996), the species has been recorded in or near seagrass. During beam trawl sampling of seagrass habitat off Fremantle in W.A., only one specimen of F. tigris was recorded (in Posidonia sinuosa seagrass), over five consecutive seasons from summer 1996/1997 to summer 1997/1998 (Kendrick and Hyndes, 2003). In southern W.A., Tiger Pipefish has also been recorded as being resident (in low abundance), amongst detached seagrass, in habitat described as “moderately exposed to wave energy, with dense seagrass beds located more than 50m from the shoreline” (Valesini et al., 2004).
In Sydney Harbour the species is commonly found in sheltered bays on sandy and muddy substrate, adjacent to tidal channels (Kuiter, 2000). It has also been found in rock pools in N.S.W. (Griffiths, 2003; Griffiths et al., 2006).
Tiger Pipefish has been recorded mostly between 2m and 25m deep (Dawson, in Gomon et al., 1994). There are records from the shallow subtidal (e.g. 1m - CSIRO Ichthyology data, Australian National Fish Collection); also from waters at least 30m deep (S.A. Museum record, 1982; Kuiter, 2000), with unverified records from 130m (e.g. CSIRO Ichthyology record H 4243-02, in Australian National Fish Collection).
 

Notes on the Biology

Tiger Pipefish is one of the larger pipefish species (to 30cm / 35cm) (Dawson, in Gomon et al., 1994; Kuiter, 2000).
The species feeds on mysid masses (e.g. in bays near tidal channels) (Kuiter, 2000).
F. tigris is a monogamous species that forms pair bonds, and has strong site fidelity (A. Vincent and C. King, unpubl. data, cited in Vincent and Sadlers, 1995 and Whiteman and Cote, 2004; Project Seahorse, undated). Males may be brooding at 17.5 cm SL (Dawson, 1985). Males of F. tigris have a complex brood pouch structure, in the tail area (Kvarnemo and Simmons, 2004).
 

Fisheries / Trade Information

Filicampus tigris is one of several pipefish species caught as bycatch in trawls in Shark Bay, W.A. (G. Moore, W.A. Museum, pers. comm., November, 2005).
Tiger Pipefish is one of the syngnathids taken in minor quantities in W.A. for the Marine Aquarium Fish Managed Fishery. Between 1994 and 2003, only 3 individuals of F. tigris were recorded as being taken in the fishery (Department of Fisheries, Western Australia, 2004b).
Tiger Pipefish is a minor bycatch species in the East Coast Trawl fishery, a multi-species fishery in which several species of prawns, scallops, bugs and squid are harvested, using several types of trawl apparatus (Dunning et al., 2001). For example, 1 Tiger Pipefish was caught during two Department of Primary Industries surveys, which trawled in the area of the scallop fishery between Hervey Bay (22°30’ S) and Shoalwater Bay (24°50’ S) over a 10 day period in October 1999 and an 11 day period in October 2000. Twenty minute trawls were made at night with prawn nets (2 inch mesh size). Three Scallop Replenishment Areas (closed to commercial trawling), Hervey Bay, Bustard Head and Yeppoon, were included within the survey area (Dunning et al., 2001).
Tiger Pipefish is a very minor bycatch species in the ocean prawn trawl shelf sector of the N.S.W. Ocean Trawl Fishery. In fishery-independent bycatch surveys, the species was recorded  as 0.3% occurrence across all trawls in that sector (New South Wales Department of Primary Industries, 2004). The species was assessed as having limited potential overlap with the fishery, because it is found predominantly found in estuaries, particularly adjacent to seagrass beds. The species was a very rare capture in the 700 scientific trawls on northern N.S.W. prawn grounds by FRV Kapala (Graham et al., 1993a, cited in N.S.W. Department of Primary Industries, 2004).

Vulnerable Characteristics of the Species, and Threatening Processes

Many of the life history characteristics of syngnathids make them susceptible to impacts, and vulnerable to population decline. Such characteristics include low population densities; strong habitat association; small home range sizes and low mobility; possible low rates of natural adult mortality (due to low levels of predation, hence human-induced mortality may disrupt population dynamics); monogamy and localised reproduction; aggregation (in some species) for feeding and/or breeding; small brood sizes, and strong association between adults and young.
Tiger Pipefish is strongly site-associated with seagrass beds, and alteration and degradation of such nearshore habitats may be a potential threat to the survival of this species. Examples could include dredging of channels (for maintenance etc), seagrass decline from residential, industrial, and rural discharges into coastal waters (from point sources and diffuse sources), coastal developments, trawling / netting in seagrass beds, and power boating (and consequent disturbance of benthic habitat, and siltation) in shallow waters where the species is present.
The species occurs at a number of sites in Spencer Gulf, including the northern area, which has been subject to numerous forms of ecosystem degradation over many decades (see Baker, 2004, for summary of impacts). One of the other recorded locations in S.A. for this species, Port Lincoln area, has also been subject to numerous pollutants that have degraded habitat quality, particularly during the past 10 years (see Baker, 2004).
Given the recorded presence of the species in various parts of Spencer Gulf, the Tiger Pipefish might occur in part of the trawling grounds of Spencer Gulf. The species was not reported in bycatch surveys for the area (e.g. Carrick, 1997; Dixon et al., 2005), but has been more recently reported in bycatch surveys of the region by SARDI (S.A. Shepherd pers. comm., 2007). If present in the trawled area, then trawling may be considered a threatening process, given the limited occurrence of this species in S.A.
In a draft ecological risk assessment for the Commonwealth-managed Gillnet, Hook and Trap Fishery, Tiger Pipefish was listed as being at “medium risk” of populations impacts from operation of the scalefish demersal long-line sub-fishery, the scalefish automatic long-line sub-fishery, and the scalefish drop-line sub-fishery (Webb et al., 2004), but there are no species-specific data on the syngnathid bycatch available for these fisheries .
 

Research Requirements

Within S.A., little is known of the full distribution and depth range, critical habitats, population sizes, basic biology, ecology, and population responses to habitat degradation and bycatch mortality.
Species-specific information is required on the bycatch (if any) of this species in prawn trawl fisheries in South Australia.
 

Research Notes

In 2005, a PhD project commenced on Hippocampus whitei, Filicampus tigris and other syngnathids at Port Stephens in New South Wales. One partial aim of the research was to examine the biology, ecology and habitat requirements of Tiger Pipefish, and to monitor its distribution and abundance inside and outside of a marine protected area (Harasti, 2005).
 

Management Requirements

Generally, ongoing protection from degradation is required for estuaries and nearshore seagrass habitats.
Where the species is present in the bycatch of coastal fisheries (e.g. prawn trawl bycatch), such information should be recorded over space and time, and methods to reduce the bycatch of syngnathid fishes should be adopted where possible. 
Although the main part of this species range is likely to be in waters shallower than those worked by Commonwealth-managed trawl fisheries, bycatch should be monitored for the presence of Tiger Pipefish, in fisheries for which it has been stated as being at “medium risk” of population impacts; e.g. the scalefish demersal long-line sub-fishery, the scalefish automatic long-line sub-fishery, and the scalefish drop-line sub-fishery of the GHAT (Webb et al., 2004).
Where the species is present in the bycatch of coastal fisheries (e.g. prawn trawl bycatch), such information should be recorded over space and time, and methods to reduce the bycatch of syngnathid fishes should be adopted where possible. As indicated in Research Requirements above, in S.A. a system should be developed for the ongoing collection and monitoring of bycatch data from the Gulf St Vincent Prawn Fishery and the West Coast Prawn Fishery (as currently occurs in the Spencer Gulf Prawn Trawl Fishery), sufficient to enable identification of long-term trends in bycatch (Australian Government DEH, 2004b; Dixon et al., 2005). It is noted that prawn fisheries in southern Australia have made significant efforts during the past decades to reduce the bycatch of bony fishes. Examples for Spencer Gulf and Gulf St Vincent include the spatial and temporal organisation and “real time” management of the fishing fleet in some areas (e.g. Spencer Gulf) to minimise capture of undersized prawns and bycatch species, and developments in gear design to reduce bycatch, such as square-mesh cod-ends, bycatch chutes, hopper/conveyor systems, and the fitting of exclusion devices (e.g. MacDonald, 1998; Carrick, 1997; Broadhurst et al., 1999; South Australian Prawn Industry Association web site, 2000; PIRSA, 2003).
Measures (such as improvements in net design) to reduce the bycatch of benthic fish species in all trawl fisheries are recommended.
 

Other Information

Tiger Pipefish has been assessed as being at low risk of population impacts from operation of the N.S.W. Ocean Trawl Fishery (N.S.W. Department of Primary Industries, 2004), the South East Trawl Fishery (Wayte et al., 2004), the GAB Trawl Fishery (Daley et al., 2006), and the Southern Bluefin Tuna Fishery (AFMA, 2006d). 
 

Support for S.A. Listing:

Graham Edgar (University of Tasmania), and Barry Hutchins (W.A. Museum), the latter recommending Data Deficient category.