Question ?

Hello All,

As we are approaching winter, I have a question regarding possession legality.Here is the situation;

• I spend the afternoon on a glassy Moreton bay chasing winter whiting.
• After hopefully catching a few I then spend the early evening chasing some snapper
• I fillet some of my winter whiting whilst on board using the winter whiting frames as bait for the snapper.

My interpretation of the law as per below straight from the DAF website, is that I am potentially committing an offence ?

Your thoughts on this please.


In relation to fin fish (other than coral reef fin fish) a recreational fisher must not:

• remove the skin from a fish on a boat until the fish is brought to shore
• bring a fish ashore and remove its skin and return the fish to the boat
• divide a fish into portions other than in a way that allows an inspector to easily count the number of fish possessed by the fisher

Yes, you are committing an offence, it's quite clear in those rules, I guess if you used the fillets for bait too, then it would kind of be OK, but that said, when you start trying to bend rules, twist words and phrases, most times you will be on the losing end if/when it comes to inspectors or court.

Not an issue unless you skin. 2 fillets skin on count as 1 fish in possession. Could have problems if they are a size regulated species but they aren't.

There is only a bag limit for winter whiting, not a size limit, so the inspectors can only be looking at the bag count.

this a reply i got back from them awhile ago
Q- can i fillet my fish on board boat like whiting bream and flathead
A=Hi Gordon, yes you can fillet your fish in the boat and it's a good idea to keep the frames on board to show the fish were a legal size. There are specific rules for fillets of coral reef fin fish, barred javelin and shark. A link to those rules is attached. Cheers.

https://www.daf.qld.gov.au/fisheries/recreational/rules-regulations/skin-and-fillet-removal



an I fillet my river fish in my boat while fishing and keep the frames on board like bream whiting flathead

Take this for what it's worth as it was a verbal conversation at the boat ramp and I have no proof if this is correct or not.
I was told by one of the local fisheries blokes that as long as the species was easily identifiable (skin left on) and the fillet was longer than the minimum size limit of the whole fish then it was fine.
EG Cobia. Min size 75cm, if you leave skin on they can identify the fish and if the fillet is longer than 75cm then the fish was definately a legal size.

Like I said though, I don't know if it will hold up in court, but is just what I was told.

Thanks 39NESP. I link does not directly go to the regulations.I had the same problem when attaching