Commercial fisheries in Queensland
On this page:
- Overview
- Fishing methods
- Fishery management areas
- Target species
- Government controls
- Commercial fishery statistics
- Laws relating to Queensland's commercial fisheries
- Further information on individual fisheries
Overview
Queensland's commercial fisheries are a significant contributor to the national and state economy. In value they rank third among Australia's fisheries, and eighth among all Queensland's primary producers.
Queensland has almost 20 per cent of Australia's commercial fishing fleet, with some 1,700 licensed primary fishing boats (the primary fishing boat is the main boat in the fleet). This figure does not include fisheries managed by the Commonwealth rather than the State (such as the tuna fishery) or those that do not rely on boats (such as the beachworm fishery).
One of the most geographically diverse primary industries in Queensland, the commercial fishing industry is often vital to the economy of coastal towns, especially in more remote areas.
Most of the catch is sold as seafood.
Where is the seafood sold?
Some is exported, and some is sold for local and interstate consumption.
In areas where tourism is important, fresh, locally caught seafood features on many menus - an indication of the advantages to tourism of a viable local commercial fishery.
Fishing methods
How are the fish caught?
Most fishers in the harvest sector , where fish are taken from the wild, use boats, nets, lines or other equipment to take fin fish and shellfish. Hand-harvesting (collection) of species such as trochus, beche-de-mer, aquarium fish and tropical rock lobster is also allowed.
Are all the fish caught wild?
No - as well as the harvest sector there is an aquaculture sector, which farms selected species such as barramundi, silver perch, oysters, red-claw crayfish and prawns. The aquaculture sector has around 750 licence-holders.
Fishery management areas
Where are Queensland's commercial fisheries based?
The fisheries extend throughout Queensland's tidal waters, from river estuaries to the Queensland East Coast Offshore Constitutional Settlement Boundary near the edge of the continental shelf. They operate from the New South Wales border in South East Queensland to the Gulf of Carpentaria, covering a huge diversity of coastal waters.
For management purposes, the various fisheries are represented by a system of fishery symbols that are marked on fishery licences, indicating the fishery/ies in which the licence-holder is authorised to fish. These fishery symbols are a key element in the management of commercial fishing. Each symbol denotes the species of fish sought, the fishing method used and a particular geographical area. For example, N5 stands for the section of the net fishery from Baffle Creek (north of Fraser Island) to Kauri Creek (to its immediate south).
For maps of individual fishery symbol areas, indicating where individual fishing licensees are authorised to enter, see Commercial fishery symbols in Queensland. For the exact coordinates, see the Fisheries Regulation 2008.
The particular species sought by each fishery are known as target species.
Target species
What types of fish are targeted?
A wide range of species are targeted, from crabs, scallops and prawns (shellfish) to reef fish, whiting and barramundi (fin fish). Among the most important are:
- blue swimmer crabs
- mud crabs
- spanner crabs
- various species of king, tiger and other prawns
- mullet
- mackerel
- various species of reef fish, including coral trout
Fishery areas, fishing methods and target species are all subject to government controls.
Government controls
Why are government controls needed for the commercial fishing industry?
Controls are needed to ensure the sustainable use of fishery resources.
What are these controls?
Licences and permits are all referred to in the legislation by the umbrella term "authority". Licences are usually renewable and transferable, whereas permits and personal licences, such as the Commercial Fisher Licence , are not transferable. Many types of "authorities" are needed to cover the wide range of species, areas and fishing methods. Licences, Authorities to Take Fish for Trade or Commerce and permits all allow fishers to take particular marine species for trade or commerce as long as they abide by certain conditions, including (for example) gear restrictions, area restrictions and management policies.
What licences do you need to operate in a commercial fishery?
To operate in a commercial fishery:
- the fisher must have a Commercial Fisher Licence
- the boat must be licensed as a Queensland Commercial Fishing Vessel
- the boat licence must be officially "endorsed" to operate in a particular fishery or fisheries
Each fishery has its own symbol, which appears on the licence. The symbol allows the boat to be used for taking unprotected species of fish, with the authorised gear, subject to various controls specified under the Queensland Fisheries Act 1994 . The boat must not operate in any fishery for which it has not been endorsed. For maps of individual fishery areas, see Commercial fishery symbols in Queensland .
What licences do you need to operate in the Collection Fishery?
To operate in a commercial fishery where hand-harvesting is used (such as the beachworm fishery), you need a Commercial Harvest Fishery Licence .
How do you get a licence?
You will have to buy an existing licence from another operator because, as from 1984, no new licences or authorities are being issued.
In the case of trawling, net fishing and line fishing, this means you will have to buy an existing licensed boat and engage a commercial fisher to operate it.
Why are no new licences being issued?
There is evidence of declining catch rates of target species, despite improved technology and increased effort by fishers. To ensure that the fishery is used sustainably, the government has progressively introduced limited entry arrangements. They were introduced:
- for the trawl fleet in 1979
- for barramundi-fishing boats in 1980
- for all other commercial fishing activity in 1984
What is the Public Register?
Details of current licences, permits, and quota holdings are entered into the Register of Authorities. To learn more about the methods available to search the register of authorities, please see How to Inspect the Fisheries Register of Authorities and Fisheries Developmental Approvals.
Are approvals needed for aquaculture?
Aquaculture developments are either self-assessable or code-assessable under the Integrated Planning Act 1997. Self-assessable aquaculture develoments do not require any approval, but they have to comply with all conditions of the Low Impact Aquaculture Self-assessable Code (AQUA01) (
PDF 310 kB). Code-assessable aquaculture developments require a development approval. If the proposed aquaculture development is on unallocated tidal land such as oyster farming, or in Queensland water, a resource allocation authority must be obtained from DPI&F before a development approval is lodged. For more information see Fisheries development approvals .
Regulations
These regulations include controls on:
- the number of boats that can operate in a fishery
- the time and place of fishing
- the type and specifications (length, for example) of boat and fishing gear
- the amount of catch (for example, a "total allowable catch")
- the size, sex or maturity of fish - e.g. berried (egg-laden) crabs or lobsters, various fin fish - that can be taken on board, held, landed or offered for sale.
Also, "output controls" may apply to the volume and composition of incidental catch that can be retained - that is, to other "permitted species" caught along with the target species.
For further details on each of the controls listed above, see Basic fisheries management methods .
How is the catch of commercial fish monitored?
All commercial fishers, from trawler operators to ocean beach fishers and crabbers, must contribute data about their day's catch, the location fished and the time spent fishing. They have a legal obligation to record this information in a compulsory daily logbook. The data provided is used to assess and monitor the status of individual species and fisheries in Queensland.
See Commercial Fishery Information System (CFISH) for details.
Commercial fishery statistics (trawl, net, line and pot and dilly fisheries only)
| Year | Number of boats | Number of days fished | Catch (in tonnes) | Approximate gross value of production (AUD $million) |
| 2001 | 1849 | 214 679 | 28 374 | 229 |
| 2002 | 1789 | 215 372 | 26 770 | 223 |
| 2003 | 1766 | 218 710 | 27 368 | 229 |
| 2004 | 1669 | 196 229 | 26 573 | 218 |
Note: Data extracted September 2005.
Laws relating to Queensland's commercial fisheries
The commercial fisheries in Queensland are operated in accordance with the Fisheries Act 1994
Other relevant legislation:
- Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act 1975 (Commonwealth)
- Marine Parks Act 1982
- Fisheries Regulations 2008
- Torres Strait Fisheries Act 1984
- Nature Conservation Act 1992
- Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
- Integrated Planning Act 1997
Copies are available through the Government Printing Office on telephone 07 3246 3399 or you can download them at the Office of the Queensland Parliamentary Counsel website.
To access legislation on the Queensland Parliamentary Counsel website, click on the 'Legislation' tab and select the appropriate alphabetical directory. For example, select the 'F' directory and scroll down to find the Fisheries Act 1994.
Further information on individual fisheries
Commercial fisheries are often categorised according to the species they sell and the fishing gear they use.
For further information on each of the individual commercial fisheries, see:
- Commercial Collection Fishery in Queensland
- Commercial Crab Fisheries in Queensland
- Commercial Eel Fishery in Queensland
- Commercial Line Fishery in Queensland
- Commercial Net Fisheries in Queensland
- Commercial Trawl Fishery in Queensland
- Torres Strait commercial fisheries
Last updated 1 April 2008
