Tropical rock lobster fishery

Fishery symbol

  • R: Crayfish and rock lobster fishery

Management

Operating areas

Quota

The fishery is managed through:

  • total allowable commercial catch (TACC)
  • individual transferable quotas (ITQs) units allocated to each licence.

Licences

To operate in the fishery, you need a:

Reporting and monitoring

Commercial fishers must:

Closures

  • Annual closed season north of 14°S from 1 October to 31 January.

Equipment

  • Primary boats can be up to 25m long.
  • Tender boats can be up to 10m long.
  • Distance between tender and primary boats is restricted to 5 nautical miles.

Target species

Size and take limits

  • Minimum size limit is 90mm (carapace length) and 115mm (tail length).
  • Fishers must not take egg-bearing and tar-spot females.