Bag and size limits - tidal waters

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Home > Fisheries > Recreational fishing > Fishing rules & regulations > Bag & size limits - tidal waters

Bag and size limits - tidal waters

The page lists the bag and size limits for fishing in tidal waters. For the limits that apply in fresh waters see Bag and size limits - fresh waters.

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Size, take and possession limits - tidal waters

The following legal limits apply to #sh taken in Queensland waters. A take and possession limit is the total number of #sh a person may take or possess at any one time.

Coral reef fin fish bag and size limits*
Species Legal size (cm) Take and possession limit
All cods and groupers 38 min Combined limit of 5 in total of all cod species

Cod exceptions

Camouflage rockcod 50 min 100 max

  Estuary cod see listing in following table

Flowery cod 50 min 100 max

Greasy rockcod 38 min 100 max

Maori cod 45 min

Barramundi cod

No take
  Potato cod

No take
Queensland grouper

No take
All coral trout 38 min Combined limit of 7 in total of all trout species

Coral trout exceptions

  Chinese footballer trout (blue spot trout) 50 min 80 max

All emperors 25 min 5 per species

Emperor exceptions

Red-throat sweetlip 38 min 8
  Long nose emperor 38 min 5
  Spangled emperor 45 min 5
  Red emperor 55 min 5
All fusiliers No limit No limit
All parrotfishes 25 min 5 per species
All surgeonfishes 25 min 5 per species
All sweetlips
(excluding red throat sweetlip)
25 min 5 per species
All tropical snappers and sea perches 25 min 5 per species
Tropical snappers and sea perch exceptions
Crimson (rosy) jobfish and lavender jobfish 38 min Combined limit of 8 in total for both species
  Chinaman fish

No take
  Crimson seaperch (small mouth nannygai) and saddletail seaperch (large mouth nannygai) 40 min Combined limit of 9 in total for both species
Flame snapper 38 min 5
Goldband snapper 38 min 5
Hussar 25 min 10
Green jobfish 38 min 5
Paddletail

No take
  Red bass

No take
Red emperor 55 min 5
Ruby snapper 38 min 5
Small-toothed jobfish 38 min 5
All wrasse 25 min 5 per species
Wrasse exceptions
Hump-headed Maori

No take
  Tuskfish (all species) 30 min Combined limit of 6 in total for all tuskfish species
A closed season applies to coral reef fin fish. See Closed seasons - tidal waters for details. In addition to individual take and possession limits for each species above, all coral reef fin fish species have a combined take and possession limit of 20. For a complete list of coral reef species see the Fisheries (Coral Reef Fin Fish) Management Plan 2003.

 

Other tidal species bag and size limits*
Species Legal size (cm) Take and possession limit
Australian bass* 30 min 2
Barramundi*
  East coast 58 min 120 max 5
  Gulf of Carpentaria 60 min 120 max 5
Bêche de mer (sea cucumber) excluding black teatfish (take and possession limit of 0) No limit 5
Bream (pikey and yellow finned) 23 min No limit
Black lipped pearl oyster 9 min No limit
Cod (estuary) 35 min 120 max 10
Crab
  Blue swimmer 11.5 No limit
  Mud 15 min 10
Spanner* 10 min 20
Dolphin fish 45 min No limit
Eels
Long-finned 30 min Combined limit of 10 in total of all species
  Short-finned 30 min
  South Pacific 30 min
Flathead
  Bar-tailed 30 min No limit
  Dusky (mud) 40 min 70 max 5
  Sand 30 min No limit
Giant trevally
  East coast No limit No limit
  Gulf of Carpentaria 35 min No limit
Gold lipped pearl oyster 13 min 23 max No limit
Grass emperor (grass sweetlip) 30 min No limit
Grunter bream (small spotted and spotted)
  East coast 30 min No limit
  Gulf of Carpentaria 40 min 10 whole fish or 20 fillets
Jewel fish
  Gulf of Carpentaria 45 min No limit
Jewfish
  Silver 45 min No limit
  Black (east coast) 45 min 10
  Black (Gulf of Carpentaria) 60 min 120 max 5 with no more than 2 over 100 cm
Kingfish
  Black 75 min 10
  Yellowtail 50 min No limit
Large-scale sea perch (fingermark) 35 min 10
Luderick 23 min No limit
Mackerel
  Grey/broad-barred  50 min  10
  Spanish/narrow-barred  75 min  3
  Queensland school (east coast)  50 min  30
  Queensland school (Gulf of Carpentaria)  50 min  10
  Shark  50 min  no limit
  Spotted (east coast)  60 min  5
  Spotted (Gulf of Carpentaria)  50 min  10
Mangrove jack
  East coast 35 min No limit
  Gulf of Carpentaria 35 min 5
Molluscs any-excluding oysters No limit 50
Mulloway 45 min 10
Perch pearl 35 min 5
Prawns No limit 10 litres#
# No more than 10 prawns with their heads or any other part removed, unless the removal was to process the prawns for immediate consumption.
Queenfish
  East coast No limit No limit
  Gulf of Carpentaria 45 min No limit
Salmon
  King/Burnett (east coast) 40 min No limit
  King/Burnett (Gulf of Carpentaria) 60 min 5
  Blue/Cooktown (east coast) 40 min No limit
  Blue/Cooktown (Gulf of Carpentaria) 40 min 20
Snapper 35 min 5
Sea mullet 30 min No limit
Tailor 30 min 20
  72 hours or more on Fraser Island 30 min 30
Tarwhine 23 min No limit
Teraglin
  Silver 30 min No limit
  Jew 38 min 5
Trochus 8 min 12.5 max 50
Tropical rock lobster* (painted crayfish Panulirus ornatus) 115 mm tail min
90 mm carapace min
North of  14° south lat.
3 per person/6 per boat
South of 14° south lat.
5 per person/10 per boat
All other Panulirus species No limit As above
Wahoo 75 min 10
Whiting (golden lined and sand) 23 min No limit
Worms (including part thereof)
  Beach No limit 30
  Blood No limit 50
*A closed season applies to these species. See Closed seasons - tidal waters for details.

 

No-take species
Barramundi cod Chinaman fish Hump-headed Maori wrasse Paddletail
Potato cod

Queensland grouper

Red bass  
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Why do we have size limits?

In Queensland, there are limits on the size of #sh that can be legally taken for many species. There are minimum size limits and also some maximum size limits.

Size limits are typically based on biological research into each species' reproductive cycles. Minimum size limits generally allow #sh to spawn at least once and contribute to the population before they are taken.

However, in some species larger individuals contribute more to the population, which is why maximum size limits apply. For example, most barramundi begin their lives as males and later, as they grow larger, become females. A maximum size limit is applied to protect large females and to allow them to spawn.

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Why do we have bag limits?

A bag limit is the number of #sh that one person can legally take and keep. These limits serve several purposes. They:

  • conserve heavily-exploited species
  • conserve species that are susceptible to capture
  • share the catch more equitably among anglers
  • reduce the illegal marketing of #sh
  • send out a message promoting ethical and responsible behaviour when using a limited natural resource.

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Author: Peter Tanner
Page maintained by Julie Van Melzen
Last updated 16 July 2008



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