Barramundi fishing will be off-limits throughout Queensland’s east coast from 1 November 2019 to 31 January 2020. Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol District Manager Glenn Shiels said fishers should be aware that the timing of the closed season had changed to make it consistent with other Queensland fisheries closures. “Most fisheries closures now operate from midnight to midnight and cover …
Read More »The bizarre watery world of Gulf mangrove jack
IF there’s one species that holds a very special place in sportfishers’ hearts, it’s got to be lutjanus argentimaculatus, the mangrove jack. This handsome, brick red-coloured ball of muscle is the bully boy of the mangroves, an ambush expert powered by a broad tail, an operator so smart, it’s already heading back to its snaggy home by the time the …
Read More »Shark Control Program science and research
FISHERIES Queensland supports ongoing research as part of Shark Control Program operations. Several projects and a Scientific Working Group are examining the effectiveness of the program and investigating better ways of reducing the accidental capture of other marine animals (non-target species). Review of shark control alternatives The Queensland Government has committed $1 million a year to research and trialling alternatives …
Read More »Taking to the skies to protect waterways in the Gulf of Carpentaria
QUEENSLAND Boating and Fisheries Patrol officers in the Gulf of Carpentaria are putting an eye in the sky to help protect the region’s fisheries resources. Minister for Agricultural Industry Development and Fisheries Mark Furner said a drone is being used by compliance officers to extend their surveillance reach. “By its nature, Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol field work can be …
Read More »Waters off the Gascoyne coast targeted in special fishing compliance operation
MEASURES introduced last year, to protect the Gascoyne, WA pink snapper fishery, need to be monitored to ensure success and this year’s closure was a key focus of Operation Applehaven. Each running across a week, from July 29 and again from August 6, utilising the large and versatile Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development Patrol Vessel Houtman and Fisheries …
Read More »Illegal marine park fishing ends in hefty fine
A COMMERCIAL fisher has been fined $15,000 for trawling in a marine park and not having his vessel tracking unit turned on. Minister for Agricultural Industry Development and Fisheries Mark Furner said the fisher was found guilty in the Sandgate Magistrates’ Court of fishing without operating a vessel tracking unit on three occasions, and also for commercial fishing in the …
Read More »Great Barrier Reef poachers fined and convicted
MARINE Parks helicopter patrols across north Queensland are continuing to catch fishers poaching in green zones, with several offenders fined and convicted in the past month. A series of no-take green zone poaching offences recently went before the Cairns, Townsville and Mackay Magistrates’ Courts, with fines up to $2850 and four convictions recorded — three out of the four were detected by aerial surveillance. …
Read More »New generation of fisheries patrol officers inducted
THE longest-serving Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol Officers have welcomed a new generation of recruits to Parliament House on their induction day. The fisheries compliance officers are part of a new intake under the Queensland Government’s $20 million Sustainable Fisheries Strategy 2017-2020. Minister for Agricultural Industry Development and Fisheries Mark Furner said the inductees included three Indigenous officers and an …
Read More »Prawn farmers breathe easier after negative white spot disease tests
THE latest round of surveillance tests conducted by Biosecurity Queensland show no signs of white spot disease in southeast Queensland waters, more than two-and-a-half years after the virus devastated the big prawn farms on the Logan River. It’s a big relief for the prawn farmers whose stocks were destroyed after white spot disease was first discovered two-and-a-half years ago, and …
Read More »Crab poachers feeling the heat in NSW
FISHERIES officers from the NSW Department of Primary Industries have continued to put the blowtorch on illegal crab fishing and black-market sales. NSWDPI A/Director Fisheries Compliance Brett Andrew said several people including a restaurant owner are in hot water for allegedly dealing illegally in crabs. “Fisheries officers inspected a restaurant in South West Rocks on May 28 and seized a …
Read More »