Fishing for coral reef fin fish is now prohibited with the second of two annual closures during spawning announced.
District Manager of Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol, Tony Loader said the five-day closure coincided with the new moon when key coral reef fish species aggregated to spawn.
“October and November have been found to be the most effective months for closures to protect coral reef fin fish,” Mr Loader said.
“The closure ends immediately before midnight on 28 November.”
Mr Loader said the coral reef fin fish season closure applies from the northern tip of Cape York to Bundaberg in the south, while the eastern boundary is similar to the eastern boundary of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.
He said the closure applied to both commercial and recreational fishers.
“Coral reef fin fish include cods and groupers, emperors, parrotfishes, sweetlips, wrasses, coral trout, fusiliers, surgeonfishes, tropical snappers and sea perches,” he said.
Mr Loader said the Qld Fishing smartphone app included species’ images to help fishers identify fish listed as coral reef fin fish.
“Fishers caught doing the wrong thing during the coral reef fin fish closure risk on-the-spot fines of $533 for recreational fishers or $1,067 for commercial fishers, with a maximum penalty in excess of $130,000,” he said.
