The Queensland Government is to push for higher commercial and personal catch limits for Spanish mackerel by the end of the year.
The move follows a new stock assessment that the population is “now likely” to have doubled since a 2021 review and is now at a sustainable level to support higher catch limits.
The Department of Primary Industries wants to double the recreational quota from two fish a boat to a maximum of four; for commercial fishers, it wants a 51.5% increase in the commercial quota from 165 tonnes to 250 tonnes.
Primary Industries Minister Tony Perrett claims the proposed changes are a balance between conservation and commercial operations.
“We said we would support Queensland’s fishing sector by only legislating scientifically-backed changes to regulation – that’s what we are doing,” he says.
“Our robust stock assessment process is recalibrating to create a sustainable fishery.”
The government says it also wants to re-set the Spanish mackerel harvest strategy to lower the level of protected fisheries from 60% to 48% in line with Commonwealth fisheries.
The government says current Spanish mackerel catch limits will remain in place while public feedback is sought. The impact of current limits will be evaluated in the next stock assessment.
The new stock assessment, released in May, says that given Spanish mackerel are fast-growing and highly reproductive combined with protection around spawning grounds, assessors were confident populations would be sustainable.
NEED TO KNOW
> The minimum legal-size limit will remain at 75 centimetres.
> The charter fishing limit will remain unchanged (one fish per person, no boat limit).
> A 51.5% increase in the commercial quota is expected to be worth $3.5 million to the state economy.
> 93% of Queensland stocks assessed under a national process have no sustainability concerns.
> Spanish mackerel is one of five fish species with sustainability concerns.
> To view the latest stock assessment, click here.
