CRC Reef Research Centre - Status of Queensland's East Coast Fisheries

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 Inshore Finfish Fishery

Overview

Inshore net fishing. Photo: DPI&F

The East Coast Inshore Fin Fish Fishery is the largest and most complex fishery in Queensland. It includes a commercial net fishery of more than 500 fishing vessels, a recreational sector of around 800,000 anglers, and a sizeable Indigenous sector.

Within the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area (GBRWHA), barramundi is the key commercial species targeted, but other important commercial species include threadfin salmon, small mackerels (grey and school mackerels) and tropical sharks. There is also a smaller commercial line fishery, mainly targeting spotted and school mackerels. Outside the GBRWHA, sea mullet is also a significant inshore fishery. The recreational sector of the inshore fishery is significant along the length of the coast, with catch of some species being higher than commercial catch. As well as targeting the commercial species above, recreational fishers also catch species such as bream, whiting and flathead.

Most inshore catch from the commercial net fishery is destined for the Australian market, but demand for shark fin in Asia has led to increasing exports of the product. Until the recent netting ban on spotted mackerel, there was also a significant export market for these fish to Hong Kong.

Critical issues

The greatest area of concern in the inshore fishery is bycatch of non-target animals in gill-nets set to catch fish such as barramundi and threadfin salmon. As well as other species of fish, nets can sometimes entangle species of conservation concern such as dugongs, turtles, crocodiles and inshore dolphins.

Another concern in this fishery is the ecologically sustainable management of shark catch which are vulnerable to intensive pressures such as fishing.

The take of grey mackerel is of concern; there has been a decline in east coast catches with a corresponding significant increase in the Gulf of Carpentaria.

There is also concern that the current legal minimum sizes for threadfin salmon do not ensure that males or females breed before reaching minimum legal size.

There is currently no fishery management plan in place for the inshore finfish fishery.

2003 catch

There were 316 inshore net-fishing boats operating in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area (GBRWHA) for a total of 17,056 boat days. They caught 2,850 tonnes of fish worth $14.9 million. Another 3,581 tonnes of fish were caught by inshore net fishers over 17,097 boat days on Queensland ’s east coast outside the GBRWHA, at a value of $13 million. There is also a smaller inshore line fishery.
Data extracted from http://chrisweb.dpi.qld.gov.au 30 June 2004 with permission from Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries.

Management

The fishery is managed by Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries (DPI&F).

The East Coast Inshore Fin Fish Fishery covers all tidal waters of the east coast out to the Queensland East Coast Offshore Constitutional Settlement Boundary between the northern tip of Cape York Peninsula and the Queensland-New South Wales border.

Commercial fisheries have been classified according to areas, each represented by a fishery symbol i.e. areas where licensed fishers are authorised to fish using specified gear. Maps of these areas can be found on DPI&F's Commercial fishery symbols in Queensland page. For the exact coordinates, see Queensland’s Fisheries Regulations 1995. Commercial fishers must have a licence to operate in the inshore net fishery. The number of licences for the fishery has been frozen since 1984.

Legal size limits for many species of tidal fish apply to both commercial and recreational fishers. Size limits are based on research into the biology of fish species, and to help protect the reproductive capacity of fish populations. There is also a take and possession limit restricting the number of fish that can be held by recreational fishers.

There is a closed season for barramundi from midday 1 November to midday 1 February every year. This closure applies to both commercial and recreational fishers, and effectively closes the whole inshore net fishery during the barramundi spawning season.

Zoning by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) restricts the areas open to commercial net fishing. Most inshore areas are Queensland waters, and are managed by DPI&F, with some areas closed to certain forms of fishing (see Waters closed to all forms of fishing). Within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park only Habitat Protection (dark blue) and General Use (light blue) zones are open to net fishing. Bait nets are also permitted in Conservation Park (yellow) zones. There are also 17 Dugong Protection Areas along the Queensland coast, where net fishing is either prohibited or restricted.

Restrictions on fishing gear apply, and are enforced by DPI&F. Design, length and drop sizes of nets, size of mesh, number of nets used, deployment and attendance of nets are regulated.

Environmental Accreditation

The Australian Government's Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act requires the management of all Commonwealth-managed fisheries and state-managed fisheries with an export component to be assessed for sustainability. The ecological assessment of Queensland’s East Coast Inshore and Estuarine Fin Fish fishery is required by 1 December 2005.

Once the assessment has been submitted, there will be a period of public comment advertised on the Australian Government Department of Environment and Heritage website.

Key target species

Many different species of fish are targeted in different areas along the east coast of Queensland. Key species targeted withing the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park are: