To estimate the age of fish, scientists interpret the growth structures of otoliths and count annual growth bands. Knowing the age of fish helps to assess the status of fish stocks. Using otoliths to estimate age of fish Otoliths (ear bones) help fish orientate themselves and maintain balance, acting like our middle ear. Otoliths are composed of a form of …

Australian recreational fishers can continue to enjoy southern bluefin tuna fishing into the future, just as they are today, following preliminary results from a world leading scientific survey. At the same time, commercial fishers will enjoy the benefits of having increased certainty about their future catch levels. To better estimate the recreational catch, the Commonwealth Government funded the nation’s first …

IF fishing teaches you anything, it’s patience. Patience is a virtue rarely seen in an adult and even more rarely observed in a 10-year-old. Recently, my youngest of three amazing boys achieved what many of us only dream about: his first metre-long barramundi. Having spent many years in the Townsville sport fishing and game fishing clubs, at a time when my …

THE NSW Government is calling on anglers, community groups, councils and others to apply for funding under the Dollar for Dollar Native Fish Stocking program, with applications now open. NSW Department of Primary Industries Senior Fisheries Manager, Cameron Westaway said the Dollar for Dollar funding program complements the NSW Government’s native fish stocking recovery plan, by increasing fish stocking activities. …

The Boating Industry Association today welcomed moves by Queensland and Western Australia to loosen the COVID-19 restrictions on recreational boating following encouraging signs of containment. Darren Vaux, BIA President, said yesterday’s announcements by the two States were good news for the boating public, businesses and jobs while maintaining a conservative approach to the protection of public health and safety. “Recreational …

Volume 31, Number 5

WHITE spot disease has returned to southeast Queensland more than three years since the disease was first detected. Biosecurity Queensland undertook routine surveillance for white spot syndrome virus in Moreton Bay last month with mangrove swimming crabs returning positive for the disease. Subsequently, samples from two prawn farms on the Logan River in southeast Queensland also returned positive for white …

DESPITE issuing a pre-Easter warning, Great Barrier Reef authorities were disappointed to encounter a high volume and array of illegal activity, including zoning offences, threatening the health of the Reef, and the communities dependent on it, over the long weekend. While data is still coming in from partner agencies, Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service and the Great Barrier Reef Marine …

FORTY years ago, I was just a young lad when my father introduced me to the wonderful world of boating and fishing. I looked forward to winter. Dad and I would set the alarm clock for the crack of dawn, put the 18’ half cabin boat in at Jacobs Well and zip out to Jumpinpin for a morning fishing for …

A RECREATIONAL fisher in Hervey Bay has been fined $5000 and ordered to pay restitution after admitting to interfering with commercial crab pots and illegally selling mud crabs. Minister for Agricultural Industry Development and Fisheries Mark Furner said the man was caught after Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol officers began investigating reports of people interfering with commercial crab apparatus in …