Corner Inlet Whiting Fishery Investigation

We are becoming concerned about our whiting fishery with this being the second year of very low catches in our estuary system, and we believe this may be the case generally for the whiting fishery east of Wilson’s Promontory.

Port Phillip and Western Port seem to be fishing well.

We understand that the life cycle for this species is that they spawn in the ocean and are then washed into our estuary system where they will spend 3 to 5 years before returning to their ocean spawning area to repeat the cycle. 

It is speculated that there may be separate spawning areas for fish either side of Wilson’s Prom which tallies with the relative health of the different fisheries.

Our concern is whether the current scarcity of whiting is a natural cyclical phenomenon or whether something else is going on to cause this. Specifically, if something has happened to the oceanic spawning area such that we might need to preserve the few maturing fish in our system until that is repopulated. 

We’ve asked fishing clubs east of the Prom for any observations they might have on this situation ranging from their experiences of whiting stocks in their areas, any thoughts as to the reasons those stocks might be low, if they are, and whether they have any suggestions around remedies. 

The whiting fishery is important for our members, but it is also important for our overall community which relies on tourism and for which whiting fishing is a significant attraction. 

The best outcome from these enquiries would naturally be to confirm that the last couple of years are in fact a normal cycle and that nothing need be done. 

Given the importance of the fishery however, if something else is going on than whatever action we can take would be better done sooner rather than later.

I’ll update you with a summary of the responses we get from our enquiries as information comes in.

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Whiting Investigation Status Update

The Corner Inlet whiting investigation began earlier this year; the club asked a number of fishing clubs East of Wilsons Promontory about the state of their whiting fisheries and whether they had any comments about possible declines in that fishery.

We received a number of responses and in particular would like to thank Steven Brodribb from Wy Yung Angling Club, Craig Holland from Loch Sport Fishing Association and Trevor Pillinger from Gippsland Lakes Fishing Club.

Jenny Horner from Port Welshpool Fishing Club arranged a presentation evening around whiting with a fish researcher which was also informative.

Common to all the responses was that areas east of the Prom reported poor whiting catches for the last 2 years, 2024/25 and 2025/26. Of note this included the Gippsland Lakes where there is no longer any commercial netting. These reports included experienced whiting fishermen in all areas struggling to find any whiting at all during that time.

This confirmed that what we have been experiencing here in Port Albert extends across a very broad area.

There were a variety of possible reasons offered for the whiting drought, but a consistent theme was that the whiting fishery has always been cyclical in ranges from 5 to 10 years with around 2 poor years in that cycle.

It is thought that these cycles are predominately influenced by Westerly winds and currents that are needed to bring freshly spawned whiting from the South Australian spawning grounds into Victorian bays and estuaries with Wilsons Promontory being a formidable barrier in poor years.

Research from the Fisheries Research Development Council raised a fascinating point and one that seems to go against conventional wisdom. A separate researcher recently advised that the current knowledge is that Victorian Whiting migrate from the South Australian spawning grounds, and this seems to be widely accepted.

An FRDC paper however notes the following

“The project was able to demonstrate that Whiting in the Victorian and South Australian fisheries come from different spawning areas, and that adult Whiting from Victoria do not migrate to the known Whiting spawning area in South Australia. The project also identified a previously unknown spawning area for King George Whiting in north-west Tasmania. King George Whiting in Tasmania (2 populations) and Western Australia were found to be genetically distinct from Whiting in Victoria and South Australia.”

View the Report >>>

Without further research into spawning activity for our whiting however, it’s difficult to guess at the significance of this finding but for the moment, the best knowledge for this fishery East of the Prom, indicates that a couple of poor years is quite normal.

Tight Lines.

Article by Anthony Kennett

Port Albert Fishing Club Fishing, Friendship, and Tradition