Oral Presentation Australian Society for Fish Biology Conference 2024

Reef-ining underwater habitats: comparing artificial reef fish communities to other nearby habitat in tasmania (111527)

Liam Mangan-Smith 1 , Sarah C Ugalde 1 2 , Alyssa Marshell 1
  1. Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
  2. Centre for Marine Socioecology, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia

The Tasmanian State Government funded the installation of two artificial reefs at sites in both the south (D’Entrecasteaux Channel) and north (Turners Beach) of Tasmania, to enhance recreational fishing opportunities. We used Baited Remote Underwater Video (BRUVs) and Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROVs) stereo-video surveys during both the summer and winter of 2024 to assess scale fish communities associated with the artificial reefs, nearby natural reefs, and control sites. We compared seasonal fish species richness, biomass, abundance and assemblage structure among artificial and natural reefs, and control sites. Our surveys recorded 51 species representing 33 families, with many important recreational fishery species observed, and multivariate analyses suggested that fish communities at artificial reefs were distinct from those at natural reefs. We recorded significantly higher fish abundance and biomass on artificial reefs compared to nearby control sites. This study provides the first quantitative assessment of reef fish communities on artificial reefs around Tasmania. Ongoing monitoring is needed to investigate the impact of environmental factors on fish assemblages, although it is evident that the artificial reefs currently support multiple important fisheries species.