Government controls and legislation for harvest fisheries

Management arrangements

Queensland harvest fisheries are managed by Fisheries Queensland (part of the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries) through:

• the Fisheries Act 1994 and the Fisheries Regulation 2008
• commercial harvest fishery licences (CHFLs) endorsed with the relevant fishery symbols, which may be subject to conditions imposed by Fisheries Queensland. Harvest fishery symbols may also be attached to a commercial fishing boat licence (CFBL).

Other agencies impose additional management arrangements on some of the harvest fisheries:

• Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (Marine Parks Division) – within Moreton Bay and other state marine parks
• Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority.

Commercial fishing licences

No new licences or symbols are issued for existing harvest fisheries.

To enter a commercial harvest fishery, you must first obtain the correct licence (CHFL or CFBL) and symbol(s) from an existing operator. Licences can be transferred from person to person and fishery symbols can be transferred from one licence to another licence.

Monitoring and reporting

Commercial fishers have a legal obligation to report information about their fishing activities in a compulsory daily logbook. All harvest fishers must contribute data about their day's catch, the location fished, the gear used and any interactions with species of conservation interest. Fisheries Queensland uses this data to assess and monitor the status of individual species and fisheries in Queensland.

Fisheries legislation

Queensland's harvest fisheries operate in accordance with the Fisheries Act and Regulation. Other relevant legislation includes:

• Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act 1975 (Cwlth)
• Marine Parks Act 2004
• Native Title Act 1993 (Cwlth)
• Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cwlth).