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NEWSFLASH
26-10-2001, 02:46 PM
Barra Closed Season Starts Noon on Nov 1
THE annual barramundi closed season along Queensland’s East Coast will be effective from midday on November 1 through to noon on February 1 next year.

Department of Primary Industries Boating and Fisheries Patrol officers will be stepping up surveillance during the three months closure that is activated each year to protect this valued fish species during the summer wet season spawning period.

Mackay-based Patrol field officer, Samantha Counihan, said the barramundi closed season was applicable to all commercial and recreational fishers.

Ms Counihan warned that any person found taking barramundi during the closed season could face fines of up to $75,000 through the Magistrate’s Court.

"Commercial fishers must also adhere to stringent restrictions placed on their netting operations to protect the high numbers of brood stock that move into estuarine waters. The higher concentrations of spawning barramundi make the species increasingly susceptible to illegal fishers," said Ms Counihan.

Ms Counihan said the only East Coast exceptions for the barramundi closure were at Lake Tinaroo on the Atherton Tableland and at Awoonga Dam at Gladstone. These impoundments could be fished all year around for barramundi but all catches must be tagged at the tagging stations located at these two sites.

"Outside of the closed season, recreational fishers are allowed to have an ‘in possession’ limit of five barramundi to a minimum size limit of 58mm and a maximum of 120cm. This maximum size does not apply to barramundi taken at Tinaroo or Awoonga but the minimum size and bag limits still apply," said Ms Counihan.

People intending to fish in the Gulf of Carpentaria waters anywhere west of the tip of Cape York Peninsula should be aware that the current barramundi closed season was already in place effective from October 9 through to January 20, 2002.

Ms Counihan said that unlike the East Coast closure, the variation in the timing of the Gulf waters barramundi closed season for spawning fish was aligned with lunar and tidal cycles.

Ms Counihan said preservation of barramundi stocks was a community issue. Suspected illegal netting or taking of barramundi during the closed season should be reported to the 24-hour Fishwatch Complaints Hotline on 1800 017 116.

Muzzy
27-10-2001, 06:51 AM
Same as shady camp salt water side and side of the daly towards the mouth.

Then come Feb bring on the big boof heads at the barrage!