	Fisheries of Queensland's East Coast

CRC Reef Research Centre
PO Box 772 Townsville
Queensland 4810 Australia
Telephone: 61 7 4729 8400
Facsimile: 61 7 4729 8499
Email: info@crcreef.com

Queensland's East Coast Harvest Fishery

Overview

The harvest fishery is an important part of Queensland’s commercial fisheries and is worth more than $14.7 million each year (according to Queensland Department of Primary Industries & Fisheries DPI&F).

Much of the harvest is exported, except for corals which are not exported and are also subject to Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES) listing.

Aquarium fish harvester. Photo from DPI&F.

Queensland's harvest fisheries are distinguished by their collection methods which are mostly by hand or by using hand-held implements. Many collectors use underwater breathing apparatus such as SCUBA or hookah.

The commercial harvest fishery collects a range of species of molluscs, sea cucumbers, crustaceans, corals and fish. The main harvest fisheries are:

There are also minor fisheries for bait (bloodworms, yabbies, beachworms) and for shells including pearl shell and some prime shell specimens taken by collectors.

Critical issues

There is concern about increasing fishing effort with the uptake of latent effort (fishers starting to fish again using permits that were issued a long time ago and had not previously been used), localised depletion of stock, and decline of stocks of some species. There is a lack of information about the status of fish stocks.

2003 catch

In 2003, the various sectors of the fishery (amounts from Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority website and values from DPI&F website):

Aquarium fish: 41 full-time operators and 14 restricted operators in the Marine Park and World Heritage Area, worth about $4m.
Coral:59 commercial coral collection authorities.
Sea cucumber: 3 operators take around 200 tonnes worth about $4m.
Trochus: 5 operators take around 170 tonnes worth about $0.7m.
Tropical rock lobster: 28 operators (Atfield 2004) take 50-200 tonnes, worth about $6m (Atfield 2004).
Specimen shells: 5 operators take approx. 600 shells. The value is unknown.
Bait: 85 operators take more than 6 million worms and yabbies in Queensland, 5-6 operate in the GBRWHA. The value is estimated to be $1m.

Management

Harvest fisheries require a permit under the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority's (GBRMPA) Zoning Plans. Some zones are not accessible by harvest fishers. State management is by Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries (DPI&F) and includes limited entry, and quota, fishing gear and area restrictions.

Environmental Accreditation

All commercial harvest fishers must be licensed by the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, and also require a permit from the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority.

Ecological assessments of the management of some harvest fisheries are available on the Australian Government Department of Environment and Heritage website:

Key target species

Tropical rock lobster

Further reading

Atfield J. (ed). 2004. An ecological assessment of Queensland's East Coast Tropical Rock Lobster Fishery. A report to the Australian Government Department of Environment and Heritage from the Queensland Government Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries.

Last updated July 5, 2005

CRC Reef Research Centre Ltd was established and is supported under the Australian Government’s Cooperative Research Centres Program. Its mission is to plan, fund and manage world-leading science for the sustainable use of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area. CRC Reef is a joint venture between Association of Marine Park Tourism Operators, Australian Institute of Marine Science, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, Great Barrier Reef Research Foundation, James Cook University, Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, Queensland Seafood Industry Association, and Sunfish Queensland Inc. The University of Queensland is an associate member.

July 5, 2005