Black jewfish no-take species

August 25, 2022

Black jewfish are vulnerable to overfishing and the Queensland Government has special rules in place to protect stock levels, including closing the fishery once the annual catch limit has been reached.

The east coast black jewfish fishery is now closed to commercial and recreational fishing for the remainder of 2022. The fishery will reopen in early 2023. Strong penalties will apply to any fisher caught taking black jewfish on the east coast during this closure.

The fishery remains open in the Gulf of Carpentaria where recreational fishers are reminded that possession limits (1 per person) and boat limits (2 per vessel) apply. Fish must be kept whole while on a boat.

There is a total allowable commercial catch (TACC) of 20 tonnes on the east coast and 6 tonnes for the Gulf of Carpentaria. Once the TACC has been reached, black jewfish becomes a no-take species for both commercial and recreational fishers for the remainder of the quota season.

The east coast TACC of 20 tonnes is divided into five management regions as follows:

east coast inshore management region 1 – 0kg
east coast inshore management region 2 – 45kg
east coast inshore management region 3 – 10,093kg
east coast inshore management region 4 – 9,593kg
east coast inshore management region 5 – 269kg.

Commercial fishers who catch and retain black jewfish must:

check the status of the black jewfish TACC before departing on a commercial fishing trip
give a pre-trip notice before commencing a commercial fishing trip (submitted by the commercial fisher in charge of the operation)
report catch via logbooks and AIVR so the TACC can be monitored, including a minimum 1-hour prior report and an immediate weights notice when the jewfish is first removed from the boat.

There is also a requirement for all fishers (commercial and recreational) to land black jewfish whole to prevent the processing of the fish at sea to remove the valuable swim bladders.

For more information visit the DAF webiste – daf.qld.gov.au