Line fishing is used widely by recreational fishers and charter operators. Line fishers can fish close to shore or offshore, adapting to weather, seasons or fish behaviour.
Key details
- Features: simple, versatile, widely adopted, high-quality catch
- Benefits: minimal bycatch, habitat friendly, high post-release survival
- Locations: estuaries, bays, reefs, open water
- Species: barramundi, mangrove jack and golden snapper
- Existing commercial fisheries: worldwide (including Australia)
Line fishing (handlines, rod & reel and mechanised reels) involves catching fish one at a time using a baited hook or lure on a line, from a boat that is anchored, drifting or trolling.
The different line fishing gears (e.g. baiting, luring, trolling) enable fishers to fish year-round, trolling for pelagic species and barramundi or baiting hooks for reef and demersal species.
Key benefits include:
- low fish stress maximises quality and value
- minimal to no damage to marine habitat
- immediate catch-and-release capability
- high post-release survival in shallow water
- accepted by recreational, commercial and charter sectors.
Design
The graphic shows how a line fisher sets up to catch fish at inshore locations.
The choice of bait, rig, and fishing location can help target specific fish species. Any unwanted species caught can be released immediately, promoting sustainable fishing practices.
Each fish is captured individually and immediately placed on ice to ensure the best quality.
Larger hook sizes are recommended to target specific species, such as barramundi, which have larger mouths. This helps prevent the capture of juvenile fish with smaller mouths. The type of hook used can encourage mouth hooking, reducing the chance of injury to the fish.
Selective and sustainable
Each fish is caught individually which allows fishers to release undersized, non-target or protected species immediately with minimal harm.
Increasing hook size can reduce the likelihood of capturing juvenile individuals whilst adjusting hook type (e.g. circle hooks) can reduce the likelihood of deep hooking.
The ability for fishers to find and target inshore species like barramundi with line fishing is supported by advanced fishing technologies such as high resolution live-imaging sounders, electric motors and the ability to present live baits.
Higher value target species
Line fishing supports high-quality catch and access to live or premium markets.
In Queensland’s reef line fishery, line fishing methods are used to target high-value species such as coral trout, red throat emperor, and various tropical snapper species, with low bycatch of non-target species. Coral trout are exported live at high value due to the low impacts and high quality of line caught fish.
Other species in the reef line fishery marketed dead are of higher quality due to the minimal time each fish spends between capture and cold storage. Many commercial operators also use the fast and humane method, iki jime, to dispatch their fish and obtain the highest product quality.
Low environmental impact
Line fishing gears can be used on delicate habitats (e.g. coral reefs) where fish reside with minimal damage to habitat.
There is no seabed contact unless a small weight is used to get hooks to the sea floor, gear loss is minimal, and fishing can be done from small, low-powered boats with a low carbon footprint. This makes line fishing a top-tier method for balancing productive fisheries with healthy marine environments.
Fisher friendly, low cost
Line fishing methods are simple, low-cost, adaptable and require little maintenance.
Line fishing is suitable from small boats with minimal infrastructure and can be adapted (e.g. baiting, luring, trolling) for use year-round for various species.
Fishers can also fish close to shore or offshore, adapting to weather, seasons or fish behaviour. Line fishing gear is widely used in the recreational and charter fishing sectors.
Versatile and flexible
Line fishing is versatile. Line fishing can occur in water less than 1 metre deep to water several hundred metres deep during day or night.
Gear modifications, for example to line strength, hook size, bait type, weighting and depth, allow for numerous configurations to target specific species.
One crew member is all that is required to operate line fishing gear with quick set and retrieval of the gear. Line gears do not require large vessels and can be deployed from land.
More information
Fish-LIGHT is led by the Department of Primary Industries, and co-funded by the:
- Queensland Government
- Fisheries Research and Development Corporation.
Contact
Last updated: 03 Feb 2026