Fishing News

MORE than 6251 marine invertebrates have been seized, 337 offences detected and $63,000 in fines issued in an operation designed to target illegal shellfish collection in the Sydney metropolitan region. The issuing of fines has completed Operation Turbo Reef, an initiative of NSW Department of Primary Industries Fisheries Compliance Unit. Acting Director Fisheries Compliance Brett Andrew said the operation is …

East coast black jewfish fishery CLOSED The annual catch limit for the east coast has been reached. Black jewfish is a no-take species on the east coast for all fishers for the rest of the 2020 calendar year. Penalties apply to any fisher caught taking black jewfish on the east coast during this closure. Penalties of up to $400 000 or 3 years imprisonment apply to any …

TWO prospective fish smugglers have been intercepted at Melbourne International Airport attempting to bring 122 live fish into Australia on a commercial flight. Head of Biosecurity Lyn O’Connell said the seizure was a joint effort between the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment and the Australian Border Force. “As part of an intelligence-led operation, the two passengers were selected …

A TOWNSVILLE scientist is undertaking new research to investigate the best way to produce diverse corals that might be used to restore and maintain healthy coral reefs. Researcher Annika Lamb has mixed the eggs and sperm of multiple corals together and is using genetic markers to identify the parents of the larvae produced. “We recently collected corals from the field …

RELOCATIONS of threatened fish have been conducted by the NSW Department of Primary Industries from western NSW to the coast, to help protect our native fish species from challenging environmental conditions. NSW DPI Senior Fisheries Manager Threatened Species Dr Trevor Daly said drought, high temperatures, bushfires and heavy rainfall have placed already threatened fish species across NSW under even greater …

Rural Area resident reels in first purple tag of Million Dollar Fish S5 The first charity fish has been caught as part of BetEasy’s Million Dollar Fish Season 5 competition, with Territorian Adam Waye reeling in the lucrative barra on Tuesday, 4 February. Worth $5,000 in total, the purple tagged fish will see $2,500 go to Mr Waye, with $2,500 …

THE Australian Government has committed $5 million to help the Queensland Government re-deploy shark control measures such as drumlines and improve swimmer safety inside the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. An initial $4 million will help support Queensland’s transition to non-lethal shark control measures with further costs to be assessed as the Queensland Government implements: • SMART drumline trials • …

AFTER a very dry start to summer with little rain, particularly on the southside of Brisbane, big prawns were scarce apart from in the Pine and Caboolture rivers, where good solid-sized medium prawns were about with a sprinkling of large, and a school of large bananas in the Albert River in November. There were good schools of small prawns everywhere …

THE weekend’s rain seems to have triggered a fish kill in the Tweed River around Murwillumbah. Inspections by Tweed Shire Council officers on January 21, 2020 revealed dead fish on the water’s surface between Condong and the Commercial Rd boat ramp in Murwillumbah. Council’s Waterways Program leader Tom Alletson said the numbers of dead fish were estimated to be 200 …

TAKE a selfie with one of Queensland’s fish-attracting devices and enter a competition to reel in some wicked prizes! GPS Marks There’s 10 FADs deployed from Double Island Point to the Gold Coast, so show Fisheries Queensland how much you’re loving fishing in this weather and you could win one of the prizes listed below. GPS Marks. How to enter: …