New rock lobster rules explained

Rock lobster © TARFish

What the new rock lobster rules mean for recreational fishers. There are a couple of good wins for recreational fishers in the new rules but there is a sting in the tail.

We'll start with the good news.

The two stand out wins are: catch sharing on the water; and transiting provisions which will allow fishers to transit closed areas with gear and fish on board - this has been a particular concern of southern fishers over many years, and we are glad it has been sensibly dealt with.

For more than 2 years TARFish has plugged away at getting these two changes into the rules and we've been able to deliver on that for recreational fishers.

It's not been all our way though. It appears that "one Minister giveth and another Minister taketh away"

The proposed size limit changes will reduce recreational catch dramatically over the next two years.

The East Coast, where 75% of all recreationally caught rock lobster are taken, will see a massive reduction in lobster catch.

Half the time recreational fishers go out and set a pot for rock lobster, they catch nothing. With the new size limits, this will be reduced by a further 25%. So that means it might take three or even four trips to catch a sized fish on the East Coast.

We asked the Minister, over and over again, to extend the recreational season on the East Coast for a month for the next two years so that recreational fishers can get their fair share of the available fish.

During the 2019 election campaign, (then) Minister Barnett and the State Liberal Government gave us a commitment to increase the rock lobster take arrangements for recreational fishers on the east coast.

We're not seeing an increase, in fact, we're lucky to see anything given the punch in the eye we've just received from the new Minister for the next two years.

At the end of the day, we just want a fair deal.

We'll keep you posted.

Jane Gallichan, CEO