Fishing Rules

TWO men have received fines totalling $20,000 after being caught with female and undersize crabs at night on the northern end of the Gold Coast. Illegal crabbing Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol officers conducted surveillance at Shipper Drive on the Gold Coast after receiving complaints from recreational fishers. QBFP officer Ryan Stove said around 10.30pm, officers intercepted two men as they …

TWO brothers were fined more than $6000 after pleading guilty in the Cleveland Magistrates’ Court to using excess crab pots in a Moreton Bay Marine Park conservation zone. The brothers, aged 18 and 19, were intercepted in a targeted operation by Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service officers and Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol Officers in December 2015. QPWS principal ranger …

A north Queensland recreational fisher has been fined $9000 after pleading guilty to four fishing offences including illegal netting in the Ingham Magistrates’ Court. The man was charged with unlawfully using two commercial fishing nets, possessing four commercial fishing nets and two protected sawfish rostrums, and making a misleading statement to Fisheries Queensland officers. Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol district …

A Mount Warren Park man has been fined $18,000 in the Beenleigh Magistrates’ Court for multiple fisheries offences on the Logan River. Logan River crabbing offence Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol district manager Rob McDonald said the fisher faced 17 charges following a three-month investigation into illegal crabbing and the subsequent sale of crabs. “The charges included taking and possessing female …

Current situation Disease control activities are continuing on the prawn farms on the Logan River, however the recent weather event associated with Tropical Cyclone Debbie delayed activities for a short time. Surveillance for the virus that causes white spot is continuing along the east coast of Queensland. Tropical Cyclone Debbie also interrupted some surveillance activities in some locations along the …

A RECREATIONAL crabber who pleaded guilty to five crab-related offences including possessing undersized and female mud crabs has been fined $3100 and ordered to forfeit his crabbing apparatus. During sentencing in the Brisbane Magistrates’ Court, the magistrate referred to the fisher’s “greed and disregard for the future sustainability of crab stocks”. Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol field officer Vaughan Heath …

A joint effort by the Australian Fisheries Management Authority, Maritime Border Command, a multi-agency taskforce within the Australian Border Force and Parks Australia resulted in the apprehension and subsequent court case. Following investigations by AFMA and Parks Australia, the fishers were found guilty for committing offences against the Australian Fisheries Management Act 1991 and the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation …

QUEENSLAND anglers can get their rods and lines back out for the barramundi season which reopened at midday yesterday, February 1. The barramundi season closure had been in force in the Gulf of Carpentaria since October 7 last year and November 1 for the east coast. Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol district officer Robert Ibell said the closed seasons aimed …

WHILE surveillance vessels are out in force over the Christmas period targeting illegal fishing on the Great Barrier Reef, community members are being urged to help to protect the World Heritage Area by being the eyes and ears on the water. Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority field management director Chris Cochrane said the Reef belonged to everyone and reporting suspected …

CORAL reef fin fish will be off-limits from this Saturday, November 26 in the second of two annual closures that protect these fish during spawning season. Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol district officer Tony Loader said the closure would start immediately after midnight at the beginning of November 26 and end immediately before midnight at the end of November 30. “The …