New changes in the latest Recreational Sea Fishing Guide 2024 - 2025
Some new rules apply from 1 November:
- Rock lobster catch reporting is now required immediately after tail-marking (or, if you didn’t catch anything, immediately after checking your gear or finishing your dive)
- Minor changes to sand flathead on-water possession limits, affecting only those who move between zones or fish overnight
- Gillnetting is no longer permitted in Macquarie Harbour
Rock Lobster Catch Reporting
From 1 November 2024, there are new requirements for reporting all recreational rock lobster fishing activity.
You now MUST report your rock lobster catch using the latest Fishing Tas app or telephone reporting service (1300 720 647):
- when you finish fishing for rock lobster (even if you caught none), and
- immediately after tail-marking your last lobster (if any), and
- within 250m from where you fished (or attempted to fish).
Last season, reporting rates were insufficient to be able to confidently inform fisheries management. High quality data on recreational rock lobster fishing around Tasmania is important for IMAS research that helps us manage the fishery fairly and sustainably into the future. It also helps to enable improvements to your fishing experience, like rock lobster translocation and stock rebuilding. Catch reporting is now a compulsory requirement of all recreational rock lobster fishers.
We’ve listened to your feedback about what did and didn’t work last season, and have made some key changes to make catch reporting easier:
- Automatic upload of unsent reports when you next open the catch reporting tab in the app when an internet connection is available
- A red indicator badge in the Fishing Tas app when you have unsent reports
- Voluntary data (size, sex and weight) now display in your trip log
- Dedicated space to record your temporary written reports in the Recreational Sea Fishing Guide until you can make them in the Fishing Tas app or to the telephone reporting service
So, whenever you go rock lobster fishing, remember Measure, Mark, Report.
- Measure your lobster to make sure it's of legal size.
- Mark any lobster you plan to keep.
- Report your catch (even if you caught none or kept none).
Make sure to update your
Fishing Tas App before the start of the season to have access to these new features.
Recreational Gillnetting Closure in Macquarie Harbour
From 1 November 2024, Macquarie Harbour will be closed to recreational gillnetting. The closure is part of a broader Tasmanian Government Policy to phase-out recreational gillnetting statewide by 2030, which has been brought forward for Macquarie Harbour.
Read more about it here.
Recreational gillnet licence holders will still be permitted to carry a recreational gillnet on the western side of Macquarie Harbour for the purposes of setting their nets outside of Macquarie Harbour (once outside the heads).
Minor changes to sand flathead possession limits
From 1 November 2024, an on-water possession limit equal to your daily bag limit applies. This means that when on the water, you cannot possess more than your daily bag limit for the zone you are in. This is not a boat limit. The on-water possession limit applies to each individual fisher.
For example, if you are fishing in the Eastern Zone (e.g. Storm Bay) but will be coming back to shore in the D’Entrecasteaux Channel, you can possess a maximum of two sand flathead per person. Similarly, if you have fished in the Northern/Western Zone you cannot transit through the Eastern Zone with more than five flathead per fisher.
The on-land possession limit (which applies to anywhere in Tasmania, including your home) remains unchanged at 10 fish. Daily bag limits also remain unchanged.
We all want to see sand flathead recover quickly. It is the responsibility of every fisher to make sure they are doing the right thing by following the rules and fishing for the future.
Get your Guide
Hard copies of the 2024-25 Recreational Sea Fishing Guide and updated fish rulers and boat sticker rulers are available from 21 October at Service Tasmania. You can also find the guide in your Fishing Tas app, or on the
Fisheries Tasmania website.
Buy your Licence
Licences will also be available for purchase from 21 October at Service Tasmania or online at fishing.tas.gov.au/licence. Purchasing your licence directly from us is always the cheapest and safest way to become licenced, rather than from a third-party vendor.