Fishing

THE latest stock assessment of common coral trout (plectromous leopardus) has estimated the spawning biomass of the population to be 59 percent. Biomass estimates are used to determine the status of the stock of coral trout and also the level of fishing required to enable stocks to reach the Sustainable Fisheries Strategy target of 60 percent unfished spawning biomass. The …

IN a boost for both recreational fishing and the environment, new UNSW research shows that artificial reef domes can increase fish abundance in estuaries with little natural reef. Researchers installed six manmade reefs per estuary studied and found overall fish abundance increased up to 20 times in each reef across a two-year period. The study, published in the Journal of …

Where is your nearest frame drop-off location? NSW DPI Fisheries currently has 31 Research Angler Program locations from the Tweed Fisheries office in the north to the Eden Fisheries office in the south, making it easy for you to contribute to this important citizen science program. Many local tackle outlets – such as the Nambucca Heads Boatshed and Cafe (pictured) …

WELL 2020 has been one big rollercoaster but let’s hope things settle and we return to some sort of normality and can all get back to work. I’ve gone from not being able to work at all to finally being allowed to run my charters once more. We will see how it all goes, we’ve been changing techniques very quickly with …

NSW’s newest offshore artificial reef will feature a specially designed 10m high “fish grotto” as well as innovative “arrowhead” reef modules boasting unique habitat features to attract and hold key sportfish including Spanish and spotted mackerel, cobia, kingfish, amberjack and samsonfish. DPI has awarded a contract for Pacific Marine Group to construct and install the new reef off Tweed Heads. …

An illegal fisher has been apprehended during a weekend near Warren, following a joint operation between NSW Department of Primary Industries’ Fisheries officers and NSW Police Rural Crime Unit, Acting Director NSWDPI Fisheries Compliance, Dr Andrew Moriarty said. Two men, a 49-year-old man from Dubbo and a 58-year-old man from Wongarbon, were apprehended on Saturday 27 June 2020 on the …

Snapper and pearl perch will be no-take species in Queensland waters for one month starting July 15 (from 12.01am). Minister for Agricultural Industry Development and Fisheries Mark Furner said this new closure would apply to all fishers – commercial, charter and recreational. “This seasonal closure is similar to spawning closures for barramundi and reef fin fish species, which have been …

AS a charter operator, mess and disorganisation seriously get under my skin. Now, if you know me personally I am one of the messiest people about, and the console of my boat is a clear indication of many moments of mayhem. Lures with rusty hooks stacked on top of each other and hidden underneath is a pair of line clippers that …

G’DAY fishers. I hope you’ve been keeping well and have been able to get out to catch a couple of quality fish. Our catch and release 2020 Mangrove Jack Fishing Competition wrapped up recently and boy, what a close finish it was! As we said at the start of the comp, it was going to come down to the time …

WHILE most of us are snuggling up at home this winter, commercial fishers have already commenced fishing in the ocean beach net fishing season that runs from April to August each year. A small number of fishers hold licences for the ocean beach net fishery which limits when and where they can fish, what fish they can catch, the size …