Spangled emperor is taken as a minor component of the catch in several commercial fisheries.
The Pilbara Demersal Scalefish Fisheries take the most spangled emperor in the commercial sector – 37 tonnes in 2010.
These fisheries supply a significant amount of fish to Perth with catches from the Pilbara fisheries dominating the Perth metropolitan markets and supporting Perth’s fish-processing sector. Exports have been minimal in recent years due to the high value of the Australian dollar.
Some spangled emperor is also taken off the Kimberley coast by the Northern Demersal Scalefish Managed Fishery. The 2010 catch was 30 tonnes.
About half the fish from this fishery is supplied to Perth metropolitan markets with the other half supplied to east coast metropolitan markets.
There are various management arrangements in place for these Pilbara and Kimberley fisheries.
Further south, the Gascoyne Demersal Scalefish Managed Fishery takes a smaller amount of spangled emperor. In 2010, it took four tonnes.
Spangled emperor commercial catch
| Pilbara Demersal Scalefish Fisheries |
37 tonnes |
| Northern Demersal Scalefish Managed Fishery |
30 tonnes |
| Gascoyne Demersal Scalefish Fishery |
4 tonnes |