How to report your rock lobster catch using the Fishing Tas app

This page provides information about how to report your rock lobster catch using the Fishing Tas app. 

By using the Fishing Tas app to report your catch, you can:

• Keep a personal record of your rock lobster fishing trips, your best catches and when and where your fishing has been most successful;
• Easily report catch on behalf of other people you are fishing with; and,
  
• Make reports when there's no reception to submit with the tap of a button once you're back in reception.

To make a rock lobster catch report in the Fishing Tas app, tap the rock lobster icon on the menu at the bottom of the app and follow the prompts.

 

Learn more about recreational rock lobster catch reporting.

Registering for catch reporting

The first time you make a catch report using the Fishing Tas app you will need to register with your licence (or UIC) details and information. Make sure your details are correct and match your licence details before you tap register. You cannot change your registration details once entered.

To register:

1. Tap the rock lobster icon on the menu at the bottom of the app to open catch reporting.
2. Enter your first and last name, licence number, email address and date of birth that is listed on your licence (you can check your licence details are correct here).
   
3. Tap 'Register'
   

 

Only register for catch reporting if you have an active rock lobster licence or UIC. Make sure the details you provide match those shown on your licence. 

It's important that the details you enter when registering for catch reporting match what is on your licence. If you have made a mistake when entering your details, you will need to uninstall and reinstall the app.

An edit function is currently in development and will be available in future versions of the app.

Making a catch report

Starting a catch report

1. Open catch reporting by tapping on the rock lobster icon in the menu at the bottom of the app.
2. Tap ‘Make catch report’
3. Enter the date you fished and tap next.
4. Choose who you are reporting for. If you are only reporting for yourself, tap next.
• If you are reporting on behalf of another fisher, tap ‘Add another fisher’, enter their details and tap 'Add fisher'.  
  
• If you have previously reported on behalf of this fisher, their details will already be in your app and you can simply select their name. You can deselect a fisher by tapping on their name again.
• You can remove fishers from this list by tapping the red 'x' next to their name.

Once you have selected all fishers you would like to report catch for, tap next.

How to add another fisher to report on their behalf

 

Making a catch report for each fisher

You will need to make a Catch Report for each fisher you nominated when you started your report.

1. Select the fisher you would like to complete a Catch Report for.
2. Choose the general area where that person fished on the map by tapping on the map. Tap next.
• A blue marker will appear where you have tapped to mark the general location you fished. The location does not have to be precise.
  
• You can change the location you have selected by tapping again somewhere else on the map.  
• You can navigate this map in the same way you navigate the main map in the app.
3. Choose the methods that person used to fish. You can select multiple methods. Tap next.
4. Enter how many rock lobster that person kept. If they didn’t keep any rock lobster, tap next.
5. Enter how many rock lobster they released. If they didn’t release any rock lobster, tap next.

Complete this process for yourself and any person you are reporting catch for.

 

Reviewing and submitting your report

After you have entered everyone’s catch details, you will need to review the information before submitting your report.

1. Tap ‘Next’ to review
   
2. Scroll through the report to check all of the details you have provided are correct.
• If any information is wrong, tap on the blue pencil next to the incorrect information to edit it.  
• It is the responsibility of the person making the report to ensure that all information submitted is accurate.
3. Optional: Add any observations from your trip and rate how successful it was. You do not have to fill out these fields, but you can choose to add extra information about your trip that is useful for you. This information will be stored in your trip log for your reference later.
   
4. Tap ‘Next’ to complete your trip. 
   
• If you caught or released any rock lobster, a message will pop-up asking if you would like to include voluntary citizen science data like the sex, weight or size of lobsters.
• If you would like to provide citizen science data, tap ‘Provide voluntary data’. If you select this option, your report will not submit until you have provided the citizen science data. You can also choose to add this data to your report later.
  
• If you do not want to provide citizen science data, tap ‘Submit’.  

 

Submitting unsent reports/making reports when there's no reception

If you do not have phone reception, when you tap ‘Submit’ on your report, you will receive an error message saying ‘SEND FAILED’. This means your report has been saved as unsent report, but it has not been submitted.

When you return to reception, you will need to submit these reports.

If you submit report when there is no reception, you will see this message.

If there is a red number badge on your catch reporting tab and a warning on your homescreen, you have unsent reports.

A catch reporting homescreen showing a
fisher has unsent reports.

Any unsent reports will also have an orange coloured exclamation icon next to it in the Trip Log (see below).

​Catch Report saved and submitted	Catch Report saved but not submitted
​	​

To submit an unsent report:

1. Check you have internet connection or 4G or 5G phone reception.
2. Open the Fishing Tas app and tap the catch reporting tab.

You will know if these reports have successfully submitted when the red number badge on the catch reporting tab and warning on the catch reporting homescreen disappear.

Providing voluntary data

You can choose to provide extra citizen science data about rock lobster you kept or released, such as their sex, size and weight. 

To do this:

1. After you have reviewed your Catch Report, tap next.
2. Tap ‘Provide Voluntary Data’.
3. Choose which fisher’s catch you would like provide citizen science data for.
4. Enter citizen science data for each lobster the fisher kept or released.
• If you do not know data for a lobster you caught or released, select 'unknown' for sex and '0' for length and weight. 
• You can tap 'Next' to skip provide citizen science data for one or more of the released lobster only. 
5. Repeat for any other fishers you are reporting catch for.
   
6. Tap ‘Submit extra details’ and review the details you have provided.
7. Tap Submit.
   

Viewing your Trip Log

You can view your trip log by tapping ‘View trip log’ from the Catch Reporting home screen.

Every Catch Report you make for yourself will appear in your Trip Log. Catch reports made on behalf of other fishers will also appear in your Trip Log, including the provided citizen science data. 

Viewing your Season Report

You can view a summary of your season by tapping ‘View full report’ from the catch reporting home screen​. Only your catch data will be included in your season report. Catch you reported on behalf of other fishers will not appear here.

​Viewing your fishing location on the map

​You can also view all your fishing location on the Map tab. The catch report locations will be displayed on the map as a lobster icon. By click any of the icon, it will redirect you back to the associated catch report under the Trip log. 

You can choose to switch on and off the Catch report layer by select it via the Layer selection button on the upright corner. 

Troubleshooting

If you have encountered issues when making a Catch Report, please check the Troubleshooting page for possible solutions.