East Coast Catch Cap

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Stat​us: CLOSED

The East Coast catch cap area (from Eddystone Point to Coal Point) is CLOSED to commercial fishing from 00:01am on Wednesday 18 June 2025 until the start of the 2026/27 quota season on 1 March 2026.

The East Coast Catch Cap was set at 94 tonnes for the 2025/26 season commenci​ng 1 March 2025.  

​The East Coast Catch Cap area extends from the line of latitude 41° 16' 30" south off St Helens Point south to  the line of latitude 43° 20' south off Coal Point (see map at bottom of this page).  

The area near Red Rocks, ​lin​e of latitude 41°00’15’’​ south to Tasman Head, line of latitude 43° 30’ 58" south, the East Coast Stock Rebuilding Area​, including the East Coast Catch Cap area, has closed now that the catch cap has been reached.The closed area excludes the D'Entrecasteaux Channel and the River Derwent, and is bounded by an imaginary straight line from Cape Direction to Dennes Point, Bruny Island, as shown in the map below.


Important: GPS coordinates are provided in degrees, minutes, and seconds (e.g. 40°59'35"S). If you use GPS in degrees and decimal minutes (e.g. 40°59.583'S) or in decimal degrees (e.g. 40.9931°S), you must accurately convert the coordinates to the correct format.


A map of the Tasmanian coastline showing State waters. Waters running east of Point Sorell to Coal Point are coloured red and labelled 'Closed'. The remaining waters are coloured green and labelled 'Open'.

Rock lobster com​mercial open and closed areas.


For more details on the closure, see the published notice​:

 Public Notice Closing East Coast stock rebuilding zone June 18 2025 (PDF 98Kb)



Below is a table of cumulative catches from the East Coast Catch Cap Area for the 2025/26 season.

Cumulative Catch from East Coast Catch Cap Area​ 2025/26 season.

​Quota year 2024/25
Catch Cap 94 tonnes​
​Total Tonnes
Caught
Total Uncaught​​% of Catch Cap Taken
​April 2025
60.25 (65.3)
33.8
64.1
​May 2025
24.1 (21.0)
9.7
25.6
​June 2025
9.4 (10.1)
0.3
10.0
​July 2025

​August 2025

​September 2025

​​TOTAL93.7 (96.4)
0.3 (-2.4)99.7 (102.5)

Catch update as of 14 July​​​ 2025 from entered quota dockets, catch from unloading telephone and app reports​ in brackets.​

Cumulative Catch from East Coast Catch Cap Area​ 2024/25 season.

​Quota year 2024/25
Catch Cap 94 tonnes​
​Total Tonnes
Caught
Total Uncaught​​% of Catch Cap Taken
​​March 2024
44.9
49.1
47.8
​April 2024
33.2
15.8
35.4
​May 2024
5.7
10.1
6.1
​June 2024
13.8
-3.7
14.7
​​TOTAL97.7-3.7103.94

Finalised East Coast Catch Cap Catch 2024​

Cumulative Catch from East Coast Catch Cap Area​ 2023/24 season.

​Quota year 2022/23
Catch Cap 94 tonnes​
​Total Tonnes
Caught
Total Uncaught​​% of Catch Cap Taken
​​March 2023
51.72
42.28
55.02
​April 2023
24.61
17.67
26.18
​May 2023
11.49
6.18
12.22
​June 2023
5.88
0.30
6.26
​​TOTAL93.700.3099.68

Finalised East Coast Catch Cap Catch 2023


Cumulative Catch from East Coast Catch Cap Area​ 2022/23
​Quota year 2022/23
Catch Cap 94 tonnes​
​Total Tonnes
Caught
Total Uncaught​ ​% of Catch Cap Taken
​March 2022
34.68
59.32
36.89
​April 2022
17.91
41.41
19.05
​May 2022
3.40
38.01
3.62
​June 2022
15.43
22.58
16.41
​July 2022
27.36
-4.78
29.11
​August 2022
1.02
-5.80
1.09
​​TOTAL99.80 -5.80 106.17​​​​

Finalised East Coast Catch Cap Catch 2022

​​

​  ​Map of East Coast Rock​ Lobster Catch-Cap Area

East Coast Catch-Cap Area ​ 

Contact

Commercial Rock Lobster Management
Level 3, 134 Macquarie Street
GPO Box 44
HOBART TAS 7001
Phone: 0476 782 042
Email: commercial.fisheries@nre.tas.gov.au

Hotline

Fishwatch Report illegal fishing

0427 655 557

What to report? arrow button

Contact us

Recreational Fishing

Level 3, 134 Macquarie St

Hobart TAS 7000

Phone: (03) 6165 3233, 1300 720 647

Email: fishing.enquiries@nre.tas.gov.au

Commercial Fisheries

Level 3, 134 Macquarie St

GPO Box 44

Phone: (03) 6165 3000, 1300 368 550

Email: commercial.fisheries@nre.tas.gov.au

Commercial Fisheries Licensing

Level 1, 134 Macquarie St

GPO Box 44

Phone: (03) 6165 3000, 1300 368 550

Email: fisheries.licensing@nre.tas.gov.au