NSW

Keep calm around rays

ray

Rays are common around fish cleaning tables and play an important role as scavengers. DPI discourages fishers from deliberately targeting rays or interacting with them at boat ramps and cleaning table areas due to their local significance and ecological value. They are wild animals and with any wildlife it is important to act responsibly around them and treat them with …

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FADs season comes to an end in NSW

season

Following another fantastic FADs season, all FADs have now been removed between Tweed Heads and Eden for annual winter maintenance. Each year, all FAD buoys, ropes and ground gear are removed during winter and prepared for the following Spring season. FAD buoys are cleaned, new ropes prepared, and chains, shackles, swivels and anchors replaced as necessary to give them the …

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Opera house yabby traps prohibited in NSW

opera

Do not use opera house style yabby traps in NSW! A quick reminder that yabby traps are prohibited for use by recreational fishers in ALL NSW WATERS to help prevent inadvertent capture of native wildlife. Do your bit to save our native aquatic wildlife and do not use “opera house” style yabby traps. Instead, eco-friendly open pyramid lift nets or …

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Tips to help ensure survival of juvenile mulloway

mulloway

How you can help our mighty mulloway – Tip 1 Some fishers may have noticed there has been a strong recent recruitment pulse of mulloway, with reports of large numbers of juvenile fish (40-60cm) in estuaries and off some ocean beaches and inshore reefs. This follows three years of high rainfall and associated high estuarine flows. This recruitment pulse represents …

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A fisher wonderland – Lake Macquarie

lake

At around 1.5 hours’ drive from Sydney and only 20 minutes from Newcastle city centre, Lake Macquarie makes for a perfect one-day fishing trip or quick weekend getaway to escape the city. This is one of the 30 Recreational Fishing Havens along the NSW coastline and is renowned for some great fishing, whether just a casual day on the water …

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New rules for spanish mackerel start July 1

spanish

To help rebuild stocks of east coast spanish mackerel, new rules will be in place from July 1, 2023. From this date, the recreational possession limit will change to one fish per person, or two fish per boat with two or more recreational fishers on board. The boat limit will not apply to licensed charter fishing trips. Also from July …

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How you can help our mighty mulloway

mulloway

Some fishers may have noticed there has been a strong recent recruitment pulse of mulloway, with reports of large numbers of juvenile fish (40-60cm) in estuaries and off some ocean beaches. This follows three years of high rainfall and associated high estuarine flows. This recruitment pulse represents a great opportunity to boost the stock of this highly valued species. The …

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Jewfish in full swing

After having to contend with two weeks of a solid 20 to 30-knot southerly wind and big swells, we finally had a week of good weather in early May. This resulted in excellent catches of jewfish, mackerel and tuna before yet another onslaught of strong wind and 5m swells once again battered the coast. I was starting to think that, …

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Murray crayfish season is now underway

Murray Crayfish

Murray crayfish, Euastacus armatus, sometimes called freshwater crays or lobsters may only be taken during the months of June, July and August in the Murray River between Hume Weir and the Newell Highway Road bridge at Tocumwal, including Lake Mulwala and in the Murrumbidgee River between the Hume Highway Road bridge, Gundagai and Berembed Weir, excluding Old Man Creek. The …

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Final FADs fix for the season

DPI

It’s time to get your final FADs fix for the season! DPI DPI NSW deployed FADs at 34 locations over the Spring to Autumn months and they didn’t disappoint with quality reports of catches from Tweed Heads to the Far South Coast. All FADs are removed during winter for annual maintenance. Retrievals of the Eden to Port Stephens FADs are …

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