Why do you have to report your catch?
Rock lobster is a valuable species for recreational and commercial fishers, but to manage it well we need to understand how much is being caught each year and where. By requiring every recreational fisher to report their catch, we can improve our understanding of what recreational rock lobster fishing looks like around the state, which will help us equitably manage the fishery into the future for all sectors.
Catch reporting has the potential to bring lots of benefits to the fishery and recreational fishers, including:
- providing cost efficient and timely information about recreational catch,
- allowing IMAS to produce more accurate stock assessments to inform sustainable fishery management,
- providing better data to support initiatives that improve fishing experience, like rock lobster translocation, and
- ensuring recreational catch is adequately measured and represented in any future catch sharing discussions.
Do I have to make my Catch Report on the water?
You are required to make a Catch Report immediately after tail-marking your last lobster (or immediately after you finish fishing checking your gear/diving if you did not catch anything) and before moving 250m (see Recreational Rock Lobster Catch Reporting for more detail).
For boat-based fishers, this means you will be required to make you Catch Report while on the water. If you do not wish to take your phone with you on rock lobster fishing trips you can maintain a temporary report and submit this report via the Fishing Tas app or telephone reporting service as soon as possible after you have access to your phone and reception.
Important: You have not fulfilled the legal requirements of a
Catch Report if you do not submit your Catch Report to a reporting service as soon as possible.
What is the penalty if I don’t make a report?
Rock
lobster catch reporting is mandatory for all holders of a recreational
rock lobster licence. Penalties apply if you fail to make a Catch Report
and you have fished for rock lobster (3 penalty units - currently
equivalent to $585).
Can I provide additional information about my catch (i.e weight, sex and length)?
If you are using the Fishing Tas app, you can choose to provide citizen science information about your catch. This optional citizen science information is useful for
fisheries scientists and managers to understand what stock looks like
in different areas.
There are two ways you can choose to provide citizen science data:
At the time of making your Catch Report
After reviewing your catch report, a pop-up will appear asking if you would to submit your report or provide voluntary data.
See 'Providing citizen science data' in
How to report your rock lobster catch using the Fishing Tas app for more information.
After making your Catch Report (via your Trip Log)
If
you want to weigh and measure your rock lobster once you get home, you
can also provide or update voluntary data after you have submitted your
Catch Report via the Trip Log.
You can do this by:
- Opening the trip log
- Selecting the relevant report and scrolling to the bottom
- Tapping 'Provide voluntary data'
This voluntary data will display in your Trip Log for you to view later and contribute to your Season Report.
Why is an app being used for catch reporting?
An
app was chosen for catch reporting because it allows real-time data
collection, is cost-effective, and requires little effort from fishers
in comparison to other catch reporting methods.
Other methods,
like tags, were considered but were ultimately discounted due to the low
level of success seen in other states around Australia. They are also
labour intensive for the fisher and fishery managers and are not
environmentally friendly.
I have encountered a problem making a Catch Report. What do I do?
If you have encountered an issue when making a catch report via the Fishing Tas app or telephone reporting service, please check
Troubleshooting for solutions, or email fishingapp.feedback@nre.tas.gov.au with as much detail about the issue as possible. Your feedback is invaluable as we cannot solve problems we are unaware of.
If we are sharing our catch, who reports the catch?
If you are sharing rock lobster when group fishing, the person who will be keeping the rock lobster is the person that must report it as part of their catch.
For example, if you go fishing with a friend and catch four rock lobster in your pot and your friend catches zero in their pot, you might choose to catch share and keep two rock lobster each. In this case, each fisher should report they caught two lobster and released zero.
Before you catch share, make sure you understand the
rules that apply.
Why do I have to make a Catch Report even if I don’t catch anything?
'Zero catch days' can tell us a lot about the condition of rock lobster stocks in different parts of the state. If most fishers succeed in catching lobster when they try to, that is an indicator that stocks are doing well. On the other hand, if many fishers report that they are aren’t catching anything, that’s a warning sign that stocks in that area are in trouble.
Will mandatory catch reporting replace the current IMAS rock lobster survey?
Catch reporting will not immediately replace the annual IMAS telephone survey currently used to assess recreational rock lobster catch. Rather, data from catch reporting will provide additional information that can be used to supplement existing rock lobster stock assessment methods.
The IMAS telephone survey will continue to occur. If you are contacted by IMAS and asked to be involved in the survey it is highly encouraged that you participate as it will help us evaluate how effective catch reporting is. It also gives us a better understanding of the overall recreational rock lobster catch in Tasmania.
You must still do catch reporting, even if you participate in the IMAS telephone survey. Catch reporting is a new tool in the toolkit for estimating recreational rock lobster catch in Tasmania and will be refined over coming seasons. The IMAS telephone survey will continue to run while this occurs.
Do I still have to make transit reports and can I make them via the app?
Rock lobster catch reports are not substitutes for transit reports. If you are transiting the D’Entrecasteaux Channel when the East Coast Stock Rebuilding Zone is closed, or moving between size limit zones, you must still make a transit report by using the telephone reporting service (1300 720 647).
You can access the reporting service in the Fishing Tas app by tapping 'Make a transit or lost pot report' button on the catch reporting home screen. You must have phone reception to make a transit or lost pot report.
Catch reporting home screen
Do I have to report exactly where I caught my rock lobster?
No, you do not have to report the exact area where you caught your lobster. We are only looking for the general area. Knowing the general area where you caught, released, or tried to catch lobster helps us understand how stock is doing in that area.
Why do I have to report how many rock lobster I release?
Reporting the number of rock lobster released can provide valuable information about how rock lobster stocks are doing. For example, if fishers are releasing rock lobster but aren’t taking home their bag limit, that might indicate there are lots of undersized lobster in an area, but not many legal sized lobster.
The citizen science information you choose to report, like the size of rock lobster, gives more context for this data.
Do I have to make a report before I start fishing for rock lobster?
You are not required to make any reports before you start fishing for rock lobster.
The only report you have to make is a Catch Report before leaving your point of landing after fishing. You must make this report even if you didn't catch anything.