Fishing gear that protects marine biodiversity and habitat must provide a commercially viable catch and enable people to continue enjoying Queensland’s east coast inshore areas.
Keeping inshore a place for everyone to enjoy
Low-impact fishing gears have the potential to reduce bycatch and help avoid interactions between commercial fishers and fish species important to other fishing groups.
Due to the operational needs of each low-impact gear type, they can only be used in select areas across coastal and estuarine waters. For example, tunnel nets can only be deployed in areas of the coastline with low tidal run and sandy flats.
Fish-LIGHT scientists are exploring how the low-impact gear types affect other inshore users, such as recreational fishers (e.g. competition for target species and location use overlap).
If scientific data from Fish-LIGHT’s gear trials indicates that one or more low-impact gear types are feasible, scientists will explore the economic impacts of their use on businesses throughout the seafood supply chain and whether they meet community expectations.
Fresh, local seafood
Fish-LIGHT is exploring if low-impact fishing gear can sustain the commercial supply of popular table fish from Queensland’s east coast inshore fishery when gillnets are phased out.
Fish-LIGHT’s gear research trials are targeting a wide range of species, including barramundi and queenfish, as well as other inshore fish such as threadfin salmon and blue trevally.
Low-impact fishing gear could enable Queenslanders to continue enjoying delicious, local fish when the use of gillnets in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area is phased out by mid-2027.
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: 18 Sep 2026