Australian Bass are Off the Hook

Australian bass are off limits in Queensland waters from June 1 to midnight, August 31, 2010.

Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol (QBFP) district officer Brett Depper said the bass were off limits at this time due to their breeding cycle. 

"This period is aligned to the breeding cycle of Australian bass populations within Queensland's south east river systems," he said.

"Australian bass migrate down rivers within their natural range to spawn within the brackish marine systems at this time of the year.

"The closed season is an important measure in sustaining fish stocks for the future.

"It ensures breading populations are not targeted by fishers during periods where the species may be in large numbers at specific locations. These are called ‘aggregations'."

Mr Depper said while the closed season applied to all waters of Queensland, there was another way fishers could secure their catch of this fish year-round.

"Fishers are still able to catch and take up to two Australian bass within the 22 listed waterways in Queensland," he said.

This includes those in and from waterways upstream of:

• Baroon Pocket
• Bjelke-Petersen
• Boondooma
• Borumba
• Cania
• Cressbrook
• Fred Haigh (Lake Monduran)
• Gordonbrook
• Hinze
• Lenthalls
• Maroon
• Moogerah
• North Pine
• Somerset
• Wuruma and Wivenhoe dams
• Claude Wharton and Jones weirs
• Isis Balancing Storage (Lake Gregory)
• Clarendon, Dyer (Bill Gunn Dam) and MacDonald lakes.

"Our stocked impoundments provide great options for fishing," he said.

"Fishers are required to purchase a permit in the Stocked Impoundment Permit Scheme (SIPS) before they throw in a line at any one of these impoundments.

"Money from these permits goes towards management of the scheme and to stocking groups for purchasing native fish fingerlings."

Mr Depper said the legislation around closed season applied to both "possess" and "take" with on-the-spot fines of $400 for anyone who breached the legislation.

QBFP is the enforcement arm of Fisheries Queensland, a service of the Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation.

For more information on recreational fishing rules and regulations in Queensland, visit www.deedi.qld.gov.au and click on ‘Fisheries' in the ‘Queensland industries' box.