Spanner crab fishery

Fishery symbols

• C2: Spanner crabs (managed area A)
• C3: Spanner crabs (managed area B)

Management

• Spanner crab harvest strategy
• Spanner crab working group

Operating areas

• Managed area A (C2 fishery symbol)
• Managed area B (C3 fishery symbol)

Quota

The fishery is managed through quota for each management region:

• Managed area A
• total allowable commercial catch, reviewed once every 2 years while the harvest strategy is implemented
• individual transferable quota
• Managed area B
• basket limit.

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

All commercial crab fishers must:

• 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.

C2 licence holders must report:

• pre-trip notice
• amending notice
• catch disposal record
• prior notice
• weight notice
• emergency notice

C3 licence holders must report:

• pre-trip notice
• amending notice
• emergency notice

Closures

• All Queensland tidal waters closures apply.
• Annual closure from 1 November to 15 December (spanner crab spawning closure).

Equipment

Commercial fishers are required to only use dillies when taking spanner crabs:

• frames with single layer of mesh where mesh size is 25mm
• no more than 1 square metre in size.

Dillies limit:

• managed area A: 45 at a time if 1 fisher, or 75 if 2 or more fishers on board a boat
• managed area B: 35 at a time on board a boat.

Take and size limits

• Take is limited to spanner crabs only.
• It is prohibited to take berried females (females carrying eggs)   they must be immediately returned to the water
• Minimum length of 10cm carapace length.

Enlarge image of Minimum size requirements.

Minimum size requirements.