The following rules apply to both southern rock lobster and eastern (green) rock lobster which are also referred to in Tasmania as crayfish.
Licences
- You must be 10 years or older to hold a rock lobster licence.
- Aboriginal persons engaged in
Aboriginal fishing are exempt from holding a fishing licence but must comply with all other rules. Where gear must be marked with a licence number, Aboriginal fishers should use a
unique identifying code.
Seasons
Size limits
Regional size limits apply for taking rock lobster.
Zone |
Size Limit |
North West Zone - waters bounded in the south by line of latitude 42°00 S on the West Coast and bounded in the north by a line running northward at Point Sorell. See map below.
You cannot possess female lobster smaller than 120mm inside the North West Zone or when transiting from outside the Zone to inside it.
| Female: 120 mm |
| Male: 110 mm |
| Other Waters | Female: 105 mm |
Bag, possession, boat and boat gear limits
Region
| Bag Limit
| Possession Limit
| Boat Limit
| Boat Gear Limit
|
Eastern Region
| 2
| 4
| 10
| Rock Lobster Pot:
5
Rock Lobster Ring: 20
*The person in charge of the boat is responsible for adhering to boat limits.
|
Western Region
| 5
| 10
| 25
|
Northern Bass Strait
| 2
| 4
| 10
|
Mainland Tasmania, islands in the Western Region, Flinders, Cape Barren and Bruny Islands including homes, shacks and vehicles
| -
| 10
| -
|
Non-licensed
| -
| On land - 2
On state waters - 0
| -
|
Child under 10
| -
| 0 | - |
Special Rock Lobster Licence (Western Region and Mainland Tasmania Only)
- During the 14 day period, you are not allowed to fish in the Eastern Region.
| -
| 15 (for 14 days)
| -
|
Recreational rock lobster bag and possession limits
Setting gear at season opening and transiting areas
You can only possess a rock lobster pot on State fishing waters
from 6am the day before the season opens
for that region or zone and only set a pot
after 1pm on the same day. Pots can then be pulled after midnight.
Transiting during closed seasons
During the closed season for a region, or part of a region (eg. the
East Coast Stock Rebuilding Zone) recreational fishers cannot, in the closed area:
- possess rock lobster or rock lobster pots or rings, or
- travel by water with rock lobster or rock lobster gear aboard to access open waters.
This has been in place for several years for resource management purposes.
East Coast Stock Rebuilding Zone
Check the
ECSRZ boundary maps.
For those in the south, you can launch and retrieve from Southport and Cockle Creek with rock lobster gear aboard but not return through the ECSRZ until that area opens.
In the north, you can launch at Eddystone Point and head northwards with rock lobster gear aboard but not go southward through the ECSRZ until that area opens.
Transiting biotoxin zones - Eastern Region
You can transit through closed rock lobster biotoxin zones to fish in opern waters for example: after the season opens in the
East Coast Stock Rebuilding Zone, you can transit with rock lobster gear and rock lobsters through a biotoxin zone which is still closed for biotoxin reasons. You can also have a rock lobster pot in a closed Biotoxin Zone from 6am on the day before the season opens.
In a closed biotoxin zone you cannot:
- take rock lobster;
- dive for lobster, be in the water and possess rock lobster; or
- set pots or rings.
Provided the Eastern Region season (or parts thereof) are open, fishers can transit back from the Western Region to the Eastern Region open areas with rock lobster providing they comply with Eastern Region bag limits before proceeding past Whale Head or Point Sorell.
Eating rock lobster at sea
You can cut up and eat one rock lobster for each licence holder on a boat. This rock lobster is included in your daily bag limit.
Humanely killing rock lobster
To avoid stress and achieve best eating qualities rock lobster should be humanely killed before cooking. This can be done by:
Step 1: Freezer chill lobster in air at deep freeze temperatures of - 13°C (5°F) for approximately 30 minutes until
rendered insensible.
Step 2: After chilling, the insensible crustacean should be killed immediately. This is most easily achieved by cutting through the centreline of the head and abdomen (splitting the lobster in half) or inserting a knife into the head of the animal (spiking).
For more information see the
RSPCA Guidelines.
Illustration by Peter Gouldthorpe