Our Policies

2024 Policy Priorities
 
Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Inshore Net Fishery
  • The QRFN does not support any continuation or reintroduction of any form of large mesh gill net fishery to the East Coast Inshore Fin Fish Fishery Management Areas 1 to 4 post June 2027.
 
Small Mesh Gill Net Fishery (N11) in Management Areas 1 – 4
  • The QRFN supports the compulsory by-back or retirement of all latent effort (not reporting catch return for 3 of the last 5 years) that exists in the ECIFF N11 fishery by 31 December 2025.
  • The QRFN has identified that the N11 fishery (current and future fishery) must have a risk assessment applied to it due to the high latent effort that exists in the fishery and the uncertainty of how much of this effort may be introduced to the future fishery and the consequences for sustainable fisheries management and biodiversity protection. This risk assessment is to be completed by December 2025 to account for the unknown contribution this fishery will have to the future fishery and fish stocks, the Sustainable fishing strategy goals and impacts for SOCI and biodiversity in general.
  • An urgent review and rationalisation be undertaken, of the ability of any holder of a Primary Commercial Fishing Licence in Queensland, to use a net prescribed under the existing N11 symbol. (this is clearly NOT a dedicated bait net anymore)
 
New gear/future fishery development in the GBR Inshore Finfish Fishery:
  • The QRFN supports a thorough and transparent process through the use of Developmental Fisheries permits, regular stakeholder engagement/updates and the opportunity for QRFN representatives to be directly consulted throughout the process.
  • The QRFN request that future governments recognize in legislation and Harvest Strategies, that some Tier 3 species from the East Coast Inshore Fin Fish Fishery hold high and very high recreational fishing values. 
  • We ask that these values are protected and prioritized during fisheries management decision-making processes during the development of any new gears, new fisheries and harvest strategies.
 
 
Supporting the Sustainable Fishing Strategy 2017-2027 and need to support a sustainable high value Recreational and Charter Future East Coast Inshore Fin Fish Fishery:
  • The QRFN supports the full and complete delivery of the “Sustainable Fishing Strategy 2017 – 2027”
  • The QRFN requests an urgent review of the East Coast Inshore Fin Fish Harvest Strategy 2021 – 2026 be undertaken in early 2025, as it is no longer relevant to this fishery post the 2024 commercial large mesh net buyout and restructure.  Completely new and separate Harvest Strategies must be in place for the GRB Inshore Fishery and the Management Area 5 Fishery by 30 June 2025. This review process must be thorough and transparent, including regular stakeholder engagement/updates and opportunity for QRFN representatives to be directly consulted and involved throughout the process.
  • The QRFN recognizes the positive impact the removal of large mesh gill nets will likely have for fish stocks and recreational fishers and their access to the Inshore Finfish Fishery resource in the ECIFF management areas 1 to 4. We ask that future Queensland Governments recognize the values recreational, charter and cultural fishers hold for the fishery resource and that these values are protected and invested in (proportional to the economic and community values generated by these fisheries). These values include social, regional, community, access, sustainability, economic and cultural values.
 
Creation of a Peak Body for Recreational Fishing in Qld
  • QRFN believes it is critical for the future of sound and inclusive fisheries management in the state, to have an effective independent Peak Body representing the Recreational Fishing Sector.
  • QRFN requests that the State government assists and supports the recreational fishing sector to explore options for establishing and funding such a Peak Body.
 
  
Great Sandy Marine Park:
  • The QRFN commends the previous ALP Queensland government for the review of the Great Sandy Marine Park and implementing many of the recommendations for this area.
  • The QRFN encourages current and future governments to declare the saltwater reaches of the Mary River immediately above the “Yellow Zone” as a Net Free Zone. This anomaly is currently being exploited and poses an unacceptable risk to key fish stocks in that area and clearly compromises the effectiveness of the 2024 Great Sandy Marine Park rezoning.
 
Extending the concept of Regional Fisheries Management in the Inshore Fishery to include all sectors
  • Regionalising the East Coast Inshore Commercial Fishery has proven a success. It is now time to extend regional management to include the other sectors.
  • Stock Assessments must be done regionally in future, as stocks across this vast state vary markedly from region to region. There are countless examples of significant regional stock depletions as a result of past overfishing that are not being captured or considered in whole-of-state stock assessments and management arrangements.
  • If stock assessments are to be used as a key driver for future management decision- making, then it will be critical that they are credible and regionalised. This will then allow for effective regional management to be undertaken and implemented.
 
Gulf of Carpentaria:
•      The QRFN does not support the removal (or any redesign that would diminish their foot print and existing boundaries) of the Gulf of Carpentaria net free areas (implemented May 2024) by any future government.
  • The QRFN supports future governments to implement the proposed fisheries management upgrades to the inshore finfish fishery component of the Gulf inshore finfish fishery (as per the 2023 consultation) and ensure the management of this fishery meets the standards identified in the Sustainable Fishing Strategy 2017-2027 including the completion for stock assessments for all T1 and T 2 species and the development of a harvest strategy for the fishery.
  • The QRFN supports the compulsory by back or retirement of all latent effort (not reporting catch return for 3 of the last 5 years) that exists in the Gulf Inshore and Offshore large mesh net fisheries.
 
 
All Mackerel species be declared “Line only”
  • It has been well documented globally, that mackerel-like species are particularly susceptible to being netted as a consequence of their schooling behaviour. It has also been widely observed in Queensland over past decades, that large scale netting of Grey, School and Spotted mackerels have resulted in schools failing to return to traditional schooling locations and it isn’t a very long bow to then draw, that annual spawning would be seriously disrupted by netting also.
  • There appears however, to be no evidence that line fishing for mackerels has the same dramatic negative effects on schooling, migration and spawning of lesser mackerels that netting does.
  • Line-caught mackerel also provide a much superior flesh quality, as they can be brain spiked and bled and immediately placed into ice slurry.
  • If stocks recover over time following the removal of netting, commercial quantities of lesser mackerels will again be readily taken by commercial line fishing operations as was the case prior to when netting of the species commenced in Queensland in the 1970-80’s.
 
 
Catch Sharing and Allocations
  • The last 35 years has seen Fisheries engineer a constant and purposeful reallocation of fishable stocks, away from the recreational sector to the commercial fishing sector. Prior to this time, the majority harvest share of many inshore species in particular, was taken by recreational fishers. Some examples are School and Spotted mackerel, tailor, whiting, Yellowfin bream, Blue salmon, dart, queenfish, trevally, Black jew and many more.
  • QRFN would like to see future Harvest Strategies reflect much fairer sectorial allocations and catch sharing based not just on recent “engineered” catch history, but equally considering long standing historical catch shares.
  • A current example is efforts by Fisheries to reallocate the majority catch share of Saddletail snapper away from the recreational fishing sector to the commercial sector who have never harvested the majority share of this species in the history of this fishery. This blatant bias must cease.
 
  
Establishing a structured and professional Charter/Guiding sector
  • QRFN believes it is now imperative that the Charter/Guiding industry be recognised for its important economic contribution and use of the State’s fisheries resources.
  • The industry urgently needs to be designed and managed to ensure the highest standards are met by duly authorised (licenced) operators.
  • The emerging industry should be initially managed on a “use it or lose it basis”, then progressively transitioned to a “limited entry, cap and trade” industry model to ensure the sector doesn’t balloon out of control, and provide certainty and value to professional operators working in this space.
 
 


What will QRFN do?


1.  QRFN will provide independent information, advice and opinion regarding the condition and management of fish stocks in Queensland, to the recreational fishing sector and any relevant fisheries agencies, organisations, businesses and individuals with an interest in the wellbeing of the state’s fisheries.

2.  QRFN will advocate, campaign and lobby in pursuit of achieving significant improvement in the way the state’s fish resources are managed and allocated

3.  QRFN will at all times adopt positions and campaign with the long term interests of achieving a sustainable fishery in Queensland as top priority