Fishing News

A SIX-month closure of waters in an exclusion zone immediately adjacent to three operational NSW prawn farms at Yamba has been declared by the NSW Department of Primary Industries. The exclusion zone aims to mitigate the risk of spreading white spot disease to the prawn farms by excluding recreational fishing activity close to the water intake of the prawn farms. …

THE NSW Department of Primary Industries is calling on the public to remain vigilant this summer to ensure NSW remains free of white spot disease. NSW DPI is continuing its work to minimise the spread and keep white spot out of NSW, after it was detected in prawns in southeast Queensland in December 2016. DPI manager Aquatic Biosecurity Juliet Corish …

AUSTRALIAN rock lobster is the best in the world but after the species started to decline from unlimited fishing, the government decided the expensive crustacean was going to be heavily protected. And that was the expensive lesson a number of Wollongong businessmen learnt recently after a judge in the coastal city handed down the biggest fines ever given for illegal …

AUSTRALIA and Vietnam will commence an in-country public information campaign to educate Vietnamese fishers about the consequences of illegally fishing in Australian waters and the Pacific in an effort to combat illegal fishing. The campaign is being run by the Australian Fisheries Management Authority in partnership with the Vietnamese Ministry for Agriculture and Rural Development. Assistant Minister for Agriculture and …

AUSTRALIAN bass stocked into dams across NSW throughout 2017 have totalled a record 429,000. NSW Department of Primary Industries Inland Fisheries manager Cameron Westaway said the record number of Australian bass, which were produced at the Port Stephens Fisheries Institute, exceeded the 413,000 produced back in 2013. “This year, DPI has stocked Australian bass into 32 dams throughout the Central West, …

The show is already a favourite, with hosts Milan Radonich and Nathan O’Hearn sharing epic fishing moments (both good and bad), stunning scenery and amazing wildlife, all while focusing on their speciality – showing people how to get big fish in shallow water. Season 6 features 13 episodes, with the BAF crew at their best fishing in New Zealand and …

A COMPANY was recently fined $40,000 at the Hervey Bay Magistrates’ Court for causing damage to a substantial area of marine plants. Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol district manager Greg Bowness said Fisheries Queensland takes the destruction of marine plants seriously. Marine plants play an important role in sustaining fish habitats. “The company excavated about 8407sq m of soil from …

TO help protect Queensland’s beautiful natural waterways for generations to come, fishers must not move raw prawns, yabbies and marine worms out of the white spot disease movement restriction area in southeast Queensland. The movement restrictions are in place from Caloundra to the NSW border and west to Ipswich. While we know prawns swim and could spread the disease as …

NO further signs of Asian green mussels have been found in waters around Weipa, but Biosecurity Queensland is maintaining surveillance activities as summer heralds spawning season. A plankton tow survey was conducted in mid-October by experts from James Cook University’s TropWATER team. The survey involved water samples being collected from multiple locations to detect traces of Asian green mussel DNA. …

DR Mark Robinson, Member for Cleveland (Oodgeroo), has announced an LNP Government will invest $350,000 to build a new artificial reef structure close to Wellington Point, which will provide a totally new local fishing experience and support sustainability in the area. Mark is already seeking feedback from the community about potential locations and names for the new artificial reef off …