Surrender a commercial fishing authority

Any type of fishing authority can be surrendered while it is still current. Once surrendered, the activities that were authorised must end.

Before deciding to surrender a Queensland licence, keep in mind that a policy of limited entry exists for most types of commercial fishing licences and fishery symbols. This means that any new people wanting to join the industry, or any existing operators wanting to expand their business, will either have to buy or lease an existing licence as no new licences will be issued. Therefore, you may prefer to check whether the type of licence you are planning to surrender can instead be transferred or temporarily transferred.

Surrender a Queensland authority by completing a surrender of authority application.

You must return any original authorities currently held with your application or letter.

Queensland invoice fees must be paid up to the surrender date. It is important that Queensland licences are formally surrendered as soon as you decide you no longer want to continue the activities it authorises, otherwise the licence will continue to attract fees.