QSIA - Catching Fish for Everyone

Tropical Rock Lobster Fishery

Tropical rock lobsters are harvested by professional fishers from Cape Melville (14oS) north through the Torres Straits. Lobsters are harvested by hand, either by snorkelling or with the aid of SCUBA equipment.

Queensland tropical rock lobster are highly prized in export markets with over 90% marketed live. Fishers have developed sophisticated techniques to ensure that lobsters arrive at export markets in premium condition ready for sale.

Lobsters are also popular amongst the domestic restaurant and tourist trade.

Rock lobster fishers work closely with fisheries managers and fisheries scientists to ensure they harvest only what nature can replace.

The fishery is governed by the Fisheries Regulations 1995, which limits the amount of licence holders in the fishery, the types apparatus that can be used and the areas that can be fished.

Through their licence fees lobster fishers help fund research into lobster stocks.

Trochus (Trochus niloticus) Fishery

Trochus are molluscs that live on reef tops, and are harvested by hand.

Strict limits are placed on the overall harvest of trochus each year, with limits placed on the amount of shell each licence holder can harvest through individual transferable quotas (ITQs).

Harvesting is limited to isolated reefs in the GBRMP and the Torres Straits, selected by fishers in association with fisheries managers and fisheries scientists.

Through their licence fees trochus fishers help fund research into trochus stocks - gathering valuable data to assist managing the fishery

Sea Cucumber (beche-de-mer) Fishery

Sea cucumbers are harvested by hand from selected reef areas in the Great Barrier Reef and Torres Straits.

Sea cucumbers are highly prized in export markets including Hong Kong and Singapore, as well as being sold to a domestic niche market. The harvested product is usually sold in a processed form that is more commonly referred to as “beche-de-mer”.

Sea cucumber quota holders work with fisheries scientists, fisheries managers and marine park managers to identify suitable harvest sites.

Strict limits are placed on the total Statewide catch of sea cucumbers, with limits placed on each licence holder through individual transferable quotas (ITQs). Limits are also placed on the number of people operating under each licence as well as the size of the vessels in the fishery.

The amount and location of fishers catch is now monitored by leading-edge technology: a satellite based Vessel Monitoring System that not only tracks vessels’ positions and provides on-board communication and management information but can also allow the amount of catch to be monitored in real time. All vessels in the east coast sea cucumber fishery are fitted with this latest technology.