Overview
The Danish seine fishery is a small component of the Tasmanian Scalefish Fishery. Once managed under the umbrella of the Tasmanian Inshore Trawl Fishery along with demersal board trawling, now only Danish seines are permitted to be used following the prohibition on demersal board trawling in State waters in 2001.
Danish seine vessels have been operating in Tasmania since the mid 1930s and the method used today is largely unchanged from the original. Two species of fish are targeted,
tiger flathead (
Neoplatycephalus richardsoni) and
southern school whiting (
Sillago flindersi).
Most fishing effort is concentrated in the south and south-east of the State, with small amounts of fishing in the north-east and north-west.
Tiger flathead is one of the main species taken in the Danish seine fishery.
Managing the fishery
The Tasmania Danish seine fishery is managed under the provisions of the
Living Marine Resources Management Act 1995 and the
Fisheries (Scalefish) Rules 2015.
The fishery consists of eight licences, two limited Danish seine and six Danish seine, with only two of these operating in the last five years. All licences are non-transferable, so cannot be sold or handed down to family members. A licence can only be operated by individuals that were historically nominated on the licence.
There are also significant area restrictions in place for the fishery. Details about the operation areas can be found on the
Areas of the Danish Seine Fishery page.
Information relating to the Danish Seine Fishery can be found in the scalefish operational guide.
2023 Operational guide for the commercial Scalefish Fishery
How Danish seine works
Danish seine vessels in Tasmania typically operate close shore (although outside of the one nautical mile limit) on flat sandy bottom. Water depths fished are approximately between 10 to 90 metres.
Danish seine fishing operation