Fishing News

A CLEVELAND Magistrate has fined a commercial fisher more than $5000 for interfering with another licensed crabber’s pots in southern Moreton Bay. Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol District Officer Matt Davidson said the successful court prosecution was a reminder to all fishers that interference with crabbing apparatus will not be tolerated. “Under Fisheries regulations, it is an offence to interfere …

VIDEO footage of a rare, protected fish in water almost twice the depth it is thought to inhabit has raised questions about how marine life is responding to climate change and how much we really know about the deep ocean. Marine biologists from the University of Wollongong have taken the first verifiable recording of a rare, protected fish in water …

NSW Primary Industries Minister Niall Blair has announced the state government won’t introduce planned fishing lockouts at 25 new marine park sites. The NSW government has performed another backflip, this time ditching a proposed ban on fishing at 25 new marine park sites between Newcastle and Wollongong. Just weeks after the government announced the proposal to create the aquatic parks, …

STORIES of the ‘one that got away’ might become a thing of the past for Toowoomba anglers thanks to an Australian-first program to install fish attractors in Cressbrook Dam. Department of Agriculture and Fisheries Senior Fisheries Biologist Andrew Norris said fish attractors were specially built structures designed by DAF researchers to attract fish. “Fish attractors mimic natural habitat such as …

THE NSW Government is working with fishers to ensure the future of one of NSW’s most prized fish species. Minister for Primary Industries Niall Blair said mulloway is a highly regarded sportfish and an important commercial species. “In 2013, the NSW Government introduced a recovery plan with a number of new rules to halt the decline of mulloway stock and …

TAKING excess coral reef fish, which were to be sold on the black market, has landed two Townsville recreational fishers $17,000 in fines. Minister for Agricultural Industry Development and Fisheries Mark Furner said the two recreational fishers pleaded guilty in the Townsville Magistrates’ Court to unlawfully taking 63 coral reef fin fish. “The magistrate stated their actions were deliberate and …

QUEENSLAND’S new Rocky Reef Fishery Working Group will be asked to identify options to rebuild the snapper stock, which continues to be considered overfished. Minister for Agricultural Industry Development and Fisheries Mark Furner announced the new working group, which will provide advice to the government on managing fisheries including snapper, pearl perch, teraglin jew, yellowtail kingfish, cobia and mahi mahi. …

RECREATIONAL fishers will be hitting the water this weekend as the annual closed season for Australian bass comes to an end. Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol Technical Support Officer David Kahler said Australian bass had been off-limits in Queensland tidal waters from 1 June to 31 August 2018 to protect the species during its breeding cycle. “Fishers can return to …

IN June 2017, the Queensland Government released the Sustainable Fisheries Strategy 2017-2027, paving the way for Queensland to have a world-class fisheries management system. These reforms will ensure healthy fish stocks that will support thousands of Queensland jobs. One year on from the release of Queensland’s Sustainable Fisheries Strategy and there has been very positive progress towards implementing the action …

The iconic freshwater cod species Murray cod and Mary River cod will be off-limits to fishers during a closed season from September 1 to November 30, 2018. Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol District Officer Coby Walker said the annual closure which allows the species to reproduce during spawning season was important for maintaining sustainable fish stocks. “The closed season for …