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The discovery and identification of species is fundamental to the documentation, conservation and management of biodiversity. The taxonomy of the antitropical Pseudocaranx dentex complex (Carangidae) is confused and inconsistently reported. Previous morphological analyses concluded that this complex consisted of three species, namely P. sp. ‘dentex’, P. georgianus and P. dinjerra, in Australian waters. This study used genetic (COI sequence) and morphological data to evaluate the validity of this conclusion. The COI data showed the presence of three discrete lineages within this complex, which appear to correspond to the above-mentioned three species. They also suggested that P. sp. ‘dentex’ is closely related to, and possibly the same species as, P. dentex from southern Africa and the Mediterranean Sea. Also, the extent of morphological and geographical overlap between P. georgianus and P. dinjerra was greater than previously documented which, uncorrected, could lead to identification errors and present challenges for monitoring and management of harvested stocks of these species. By answering important taxonomic questions, our results will facilitate the proper interpretation of the results of past studies and the design of future studies of the P. dentex complex. They have also highlighted the value of molecular data for identifying species in morphologically conservative taxa.

Artificial reefs are a popular fisheries management tool, but the effect of these reefs on the abundance of fish in the surrounding pelagic environment is uncertain. Pelagic baited remote underwater video (PBRUV) was used to observe the fish assemblage surrounding an offshore artificial reef (OAR), near Sydney, Australia. PBRUVs were deployed at three distances (30, 100, 500m) from the OAR, and compared with a drop camera deployed directly over the OAR. There was a significantly greater abundance of fish on the OAR, but no significant difference in abundance at the 30-, 100- or 500-m distances. Two highly mobile non-resident species (Seriola lalandi, Pseudocaranx dentex) were significantly more abundant on the OAR, but this association was not detected 30m away. The lack of a significant difference in total fish abundance, or in assemblage composition, between the 30-, 100- and 500-m distances suggests that any association with the OAR is on a localised scale (

Various sizes of wire mesh were tested as escape panels in fish traps in the New South Wales demersal trap fishery. The mesh selectivities of these escape panels were estimated using a 'parlour' trap, which is analogous to the 'covered codend' designs used to test selectivity in trawls. The results showed that we could estimate the selection size (l50) for most species based on their maximum body height and the maximum aperture of the escape panel mesh. This enabled us to make escape panel mesh that selected the main species in the fishery, snapper (Pagrus auratus), at a predetermined size. Placing the escape panel meshes with the longest axis orientated either vertically or horizontally showed that fish behaviour is important in determining mesh size selectivity. However, the selection size of some species was unaffected by the orientation of the mesh, suggesting that they were able to turn on their sides to escape. Silver trevally (Pseudocaranx dentex) formed tight schools within traps and were selected at smaller sizes when the meshes were oriented with the longest axis horizontally, suggesting that they do not turn on their sides to escape. Selectivity ogives were used with estimates of the sizes of retained and discarded fish captured in the fishery to estimate the impacts of using the escape panels tested on current landings. The results show the difficulty in designing effective escape panels in a multispecies fishery.