Reef Line Fishery
Queensland's Reef Line Fishery is arguably among the better managed of the state's fisheries. This is largely because it is a line only fishery, for both recreational and commercial fishers. By and large, line fishing is a fairly inefficient form of harvesting fish, so the likelihood of line fishing leading to over-fishing of stocks is quite low. However that isn't to say that the reef fishery doesn't have its problems.
The commercial live coral trout industry has attracted its fair share of criticism over the years. Initially this was because there was no cap on the total harvest and the method employed by most operators was resulting in serious localised stock depletions. The introduction of a Total Allowable Catch (TAC) for Coral Trout went a long way towards addressing the overall perception of overfishing of this species, but in some areas concern continues to be raised about excessive localised catches, despite the collective annual harvest rarely being reached across the industry. Many believe the TAC has been set too high and needs to be reduced.
But possibly the biggest issue at the moment is fishing inside the designated "Green Zones". There is a general perception around the state that significant numbers of commercial operators are blatantly disregarding the Green Zones and willfully fishing them on a regular basis. With enforcement levels at an all-time historical low currently, it would seem likely that this illegal activity is in fact occurring with minimal chance of being caught. It must be acknowledged though, that unscrupulous recreational and unlicensed commercial operators are also regularly fishing within Green Zones, making a mockery of the reasons why these zones were originally introduced - to protect bio-diversity.
The commercial live coral trout industry has attracted its fair share of criticism over the years. Initially this was because there was no cap on the total harvest and the method employed by most operators was resulting in serious localised stock depletions. The introduction of a Total Allowable Catch (TAC) for Coral Trout went a long way towards addressing the overall perception of overfishing of this species, but in some areas concern continues to be raised about excessive localised catches, despite the collective annual harvest rarely being reached across the industry. Many believe the TAC has been set too high and needs to be reduced.
But possibly the biggest issue at the moment is fishing inside the designated "Green Zones". There is a general perception around the state that significant numbers of commercial operators are blatantly disregarding the Green Zones and willfully fishing them on a regular basis. With enforcement levels at an all-time historical low currently, it would seem likely that this illegal activity is in fact occurring with minimal chance of being caught. It must be acknowledged though, that unscrupulous recreational and unlicensed commercial operators are also regularly fishing within Green Zones, making a mockery of the reasons why these zones were originally introduced - to protect bio-diversity.
