Operating a net fishery
Structural adjustment payments
Eligible commercial licence holders, skippers and crew can apply for structural adjustment payments if they are affected by the:
- phase-out of gillnets on the Great Barrier Reef
- Great Sandy Marine Park rezoning
- new Gulf of Carpentaria gillnet-free areas.
Queensland’s major commercial net fisheries are the:
Queensland's commercial net fishery is a multi-species fishery. Fishers target different species at different times of the year.
Fishery symbols
Cancelled symbols
N1, N2, N4 and S symbols are no longer valid from 1 January 2024.
East coast
- N10: Net fishery (east coast—no. 4)
- N11: Net fishery (no. 11)
- N15: Net fishery (management region 5)
- NX: Net fishery (limited life—management region 2–4)
Ocean beach
- K1: Net fishery (ocean beach area 1)
- K2: Net fishery (ocean beach area 2)
- K3: Net fishery (ocean beach area 3)
- K4: Net fishery (ocean beach area 4)
- K5: Net fishery (ocean beach area 5)
- K6: Net fishery (ocean beach area 6)
- K7: Net fishery (ocean beach area 7)
- K8: Net fishery (ocean beach area 8)
Gulf of Carpentaria
- N3: Net fishery (Gulf of Carpentaria—no. 1)
- N12: Net fishery (Gulf of Carpentaria—offshore)
- N11: Net fishery (no. 11)
- N13: Net fishery (Gulf of Carpentaria—offshore)
Management
Harvest strategies
Working groups
Operating areas
Ocean beach
- Area of the K1 net fishery
- Area of the K2 net fishery
- Area of the K3 net fishery
- Area of the K4 net fishery
- Area of the K5 net fishery
- Area of the K6 net fishery
- Area of the K7 net fishery
- Area of the K8 net fishery
East coast inshore
Gulf of Carpentaria
- Area of the N3 Gulf of Carpentaria net fishery
- Area of the N11 Gulf of Carpentaria net fishery
- Area of the N12 net fishery
- Area of the N13 net fishery
N10: Net fishery (east coast—no. 4)
- Selected foreshore waters in:
- Moreton Bay region
- Great Sandy Strait region.
Licences
To operate in the fishery, you need a:
- primary commercial fishing licence with the relevant fishery symbol
- commercial fisher licence for the person in charge of fishing activities.
Reporting and monitoring
Commercial fishers must:
- report trip and catch notices – varies depending on the fishery symbol
- complete daily logbooks
- keep sale dockets
- have vessel tracking on their boats
- comply with state marine park and Great Barrier Reef Marine Park zoning rules.
Equipment
Permitted fishing equipment varies across fishing symbols and fishing areas:
- east coast inshore fishery use mainly mesh nets, with seine nets used in ocean beach fisheries
- Gulf of Carpentaria inshore fishery mainly uses mesh nets.
- Last reviewed: 13 Feb 2024
- Last updated: 27 Feb 2024