If you intend to fish recreationally in our waterways it is important you are fully aware of the rules and regulations in place that protect fish species and the sustainability of the industry.
You do not require a licence to fish recreationally in Queensland, except if fishing in some stocked impoundments where a stocked impoundment permit is required.
You should make sure you are fully aware of the rules that apply to the area you are intending to fish. Restrictions can vary (either interstate, or even on the opposite side of a river) so ensuring you are familiar with the rules in place will help protect our fisheries resources and save you from receiving a fine.
Other local, state and federal regulations may apply – you will need to check with the relevant local authorities.
In order to protect fish stock from overfishing, there are requirements about the type of equipment you can use in fresh and tidal waters. It is also your responsibility to ensure a piece of equipment you are using is not prohibited for the species you are trying to catch, or the location you are using it in.
Piece of equipment | Requirements | |
---|---|---|
Breathing devices | Freshwater and tidal water
| |
Canister trap | Freshwater
| |
Cast nets | Tidal water
Cast nets are not permitted in freshwater. | |
Collapsible trap | Freshwater and tidal water (crab apparatus only)
| |
Crab pots and dillies | Tidal water
Crab pots are not permitted in freshwater. | |
Dilly nets | Freshwater
| |
Fishing lines | Freshwater
Tidal water
| |
Funnel traps | Freshwater
| |
Hand pumps | Tidal water
Hand pumps are not permitted in freshwater. | |
Open-top pyramid trap | Freshwater
| |
Scoop or dip nets | Freshwater
Tidal water
| |
Number and marking of traps | Freshwater
| |
Round traps | Freshwater
| |
Seine nets (bait or drag nets) | Tidal water
Seine nets are not permitted in freshwater. | |
Shell dredges | Tidal water
| |
Spearfishing and spear guns (including bows) | Tidal water (selected locations only)
Spear and spear gun apparatus are not permitted in freshwater. | |
Tropical rock lobster fishing gear | Tidal water
| |
Worm digging fork | Tidal water
Forks are not permitted in freshwater. |
There are limits on the size (length) of a species you can take and the amount of a certain species you can have in your possession. Size limits generally allow a fish to spawn at least once in order to add to the species numbers. Some fish have a maximum and a minimum size limit because it is the larger individuals who may contribute more to their population.
Possession limits are in place to conserve heavily sought after species, species that are easily captured, share more catch, reduce illegal fish marketing and promote responsible fishing. Possession limits do not apply on a per day basis. Any fish you have caught previously and may be keeping at home in your freezer, for example, are included in your possession limit for a fish species.
Certain waterways are regulated, or closed for a period of time due to a population of endangered or threatened species living there, fish spawning in the location, potential overfishing of a species or to support the successful migration of a fish through the waterway. You aren’t allowed to fish during closed seasons or in regulated waters because of the impact it could have on a particular species and their lifecycle.
Find out more about size and possession limits in tidal waters or size and possession limits in fresh waters.
Detailed information is available about recreational fishing closures in your area.
There is a general possession limit of 20 for all tidal species not listed on this page.
Coral reef fin fish closures apply. In addition to individual possession limits for each coral reef fin fish species listed, a combined possession limit of 20 in total of all coral reef fin fish applies.
Species | Size and possession limits |
---|---|
All (exceptions follow) | 38cm min Combined limit of 5 in total of all cod and grouper species |
Barramundi cod | No take |
Camouflage grouper | 50cm min 70cm max Combined limit of 5 in total of all cod and grouper species |
Flowery rockcod | 50cm min 70cm max Combined limit of 5 in total of all cod and grouper species |
Greasy rockcod | 38cm min 100cm max Combined limit of 5 in total of all cod and grouper species |
Maori rockcod | 45cm min Combined limit of 5 in total of all cod and grouper species |
Potato rockcod | No take |
Queensland groper | No take |
Species | Size and possession limits |
---|---|
All (exceptions follow) | 38cm min Combined limit of 7 in total of all trout species |
Blue spotted coral trout (Chinese footballer) | 50cm min 80cm max Combined limit of 7 in total of all trout species |
Species | Size and possession limits |
---|---|
All (exceptions follow) | 25cm min 5 per species |
Redthroat emperor (sweetlip emperor) | 38cm min Possession limit of 8 |
Long nose emperor | 38cm min Possession limit of 5 |
Spangled emperor | 45cm min Possession limit of 5 |
Species | Size and possession limits |
---|---|
All | Possession limit of 20 |
Species | Size and possession limits |
---|---|
All | 25cm min 5 per species |
Species | Size and possession limits |
---|---|
All | 25cm min 5 per species |
Species | Size and possession limits |
---|---|
All | 25cm min 5 per species |
Species | Size and possession limits |
---|---|
All tropical snappers and sea perches (including Moses perch (snapper) (exceptions follow) | 25cm min 5 per species |
Chinaman fish | No take |
Crimson snapper (small mouth nannygai) and | 40cm min Combined limit of 9 in total of both species |
Flame snapper | 38cm min Possession limit of 5 |
Goldband snapper and Sharptooth snapper | 38cm min Combined limit of 5 in total of both species |
Green jobfish | 38cm min Possession limit of 5 |
Hussar | 25cm min Possession limit of 10 |
Rosy snapper (jobfish) and | 38cm min Combined limit of 8 in total of both species |
Paddletail | No take |
Red bass | No take |
Red emperor | 55cm min Possession limit of 5 |
Ruby snapper | 38cm min Possession limit of 5 |
Smalltooth jobfish | 38cm min Possession limit of 5 |
Miscellaneous jobfish | 38cm min 5 per species |
Species | Size and possession limits |
---|---|
All (exceptions follow) | 30cm min 5 per species |
Humphead Maori | No take |
Tuskfish (all species) | 30cm min Combined limit of 6 in total of all tuskfish species |
Species | Size and possession limits |
---|---|
All | 30cm min Possession limit of 2 Read note 1 |
Species | Size and possession limits |
---|---|
All | 58cm min 120cm max Possession limit of 5 per person / 10 per boat (with 2 or more people on board) Read note 1 |
Species | Size and possession limits |
---|---|
Pikey, Tarwhine and Yellowfin | 25cm min Combined limit of 30 in total of these species |
Species | Size and possession limits |
---|---|
Moreton Bay (bay lobster) | 7.5cm min (across widest part of carapace) Possession limit of 20 Read note 2 |
Smooth (Balmain) | 10.5cm min (across widest part of carapace) Possession limit of 20 Read note 2 |
Species | Size and possession limits |
---|---|
All | 75cm min Possession limit of 2 |
Species | Size and possession limits |
---|---|
Blackspotted rockcod and Goldspotted rockcod | 38cm min 120cm max Combined limit of 5 in total of all cod and grouper species |
Species | Size and possession limits |
---|---|
Blue swimmer | 11.5cm min Possession limit of 20 Read note 2 |
Mud | 15cm min Possession limit of 7 per person / 14 per boat (with 2 or more people on board) Read note 2 |
Spanner † | 10cm min Possession limit of 20 |
Three-spot | 10cm min Possession limit of 20 Read note 2 |
Species | Size and possession limits |
---|---|
Longfin, Pacific shortfin (south Pacific) and Southern shortfin | 30cm min Combined limit of 10 in total of all species |
Species | Size and possession limits |
---|---|
All (exceptions follow) | 30cm min Combined limit of 5 in total of all species (except dusky flathead) |
Dusky (mud flathead) | 40cm min 75cm max Possession limit of 5 |
Species | Size and possession limits |
---|---|
All | No size limit Possession limit of 50 |
Species | Size and possession limits |
---|---|
All | 280g min Possession limit of 20 |
Species | Size and possession limits |
---|---|
All | 35cm min Possession limit of 5 |
Species | Size and possession limits |
---|---|
All | 30cm min Possession limit of 10 |
Species | Size and possession limits |
---|---|
Barred (spotted grunter)(East coast) | 40cm min Possession limit of 10 |
Barred (spotted grunter)(Gulf of Carpentaria) | 40cm min (whole or with head or tail removed) or 26cm min (fillet length) 10 whole fish or 20 fillets |
Silver (small spotted grunter) | 30cm min Possession limit of 10 |
Species | Size and possession limits |
---|---|
Black (East coast) | 75cm min Possession limit of 1 per person / 2 per boat (with 2 or more people on board) Fish must be kept whole while on a boat. Note: Will become a no-take species if the annual total allowable commercial catch is reached – fishery currently open. |
Black (Gulf of Carpentaria) | 60cm min Possession limit of 1 per person / 2 per boat (with 2 or more people on board ) Fish must be kept whole while on a boat. Note: Will become a no-take species if the annual total allowable commercial catch is reached – fishery currently open. |
Scaly (jewel fish) | 45cm min Possession limit of 20 (fish must be kept whole while on a boat) |
Species | Size and possession limits |
---|---|
All | 30cm min Possession limit of 10 |
Species | Size and possession limits |
---|---|
Grey | 60cm min Possession limit of 5 |
Spanish | 75cm min Possession limit of 3 per person / 6 per boat (with 2 or more people on board) |
School | 50cm min Possession limit of 10 |
Shark | 50cm min Possession limit of 10 |
Spotted | 60cm min Possession limit of 5 |
Species | Size and possession limits |
---|---|
All | 50cm min Possession limit of 5 |
Species | Size and possession limits |
---|---|
All | 35cm min Possession limit of 5 |
Species | Size and possession limits |
---|---|
Diamondscale | 30cm min Possession limit of 20 |
Sea | 30cm min Possession limit of 20 |
Mullet exceptions (all other mullet except diamondscale, sea and freshwater) | No size limit Possession limit of 50 |
Includes pipis, mud whelks and cockles, and excluding oysters.
Species | Size and possession limits |
---|---|
All (exceptions follow) | No size limit Combined possession limit of 30 except in Moreton Bay where bivalve molluscs and gastropods (excluding pipi) are no take |
Clams (family Tridacnidae), Helmet shells and Trumpet shells | No take |
Species | Size and possession limits |
---|---|
All (exceptions follow) | No size limit Possession limit of 20 Read note 3 |
Blacklip pearl oyster | 9cm min Possession limit of 20 Read note 3 |
Goldlip pearl oyster | 13cm min 23cm max Possession limit of 20 Read note 3 |
Species | Size and possession limits |
---|---|
All | 75cm min Possession limit of 2 (fish must be kept whole while on a boat) |
Species | Size and possession limits |
---|---|
All | 38cm min Possession limit of 4 |
Species | Size and possession limits |
---|---|
All | No size limit Possession limit of 10 litres per person / 20 litres per boat (with 2 or more people on board) Read note 4 |
Species | Size and possession limits |
---|---|
All (exception follows) | 1.5m max or interdorsal length 60cm max Possession limit of 1 |
Guitarfish | 1.5m max or interdorsal length 60cm max Possession limit of 1 |
Manta ray | No take |
Shovelnose ray | 1.5m max or interdorsal length 60cm max Possession limit of 1 |
Species | Size and possession limits |
---|---|
Sawfish | No take |
Species | Size and possession limits |
---|---|
All (exceptions follow) | No size limit Possession limit of 5 per person / 10 per boat (with 2 or more people on board) for waters north of latitude 20° south (near Bowen) and waters east of longitude 142°31’49’’ East |
All | No take in waters south of latitude 20º south (near Bowen) and waters west of longitude 142º31’49’’ East (Gulf waters) |
Black teatfish | No take |
White teatfish | No take |
Species | Size and possession limits |
---|---|
All (exceptions follow) | 1.5m max or interdorsal length 60cm max Possession limit of 1 per person / 2 per boat (with 2 or more people on board) |
Grey reef shark | 1.5m max or interdorsal length 60cm max Possession limit of 1 |
Whitetip reef shark | 1.5m max or interdorsal length 60cm max Possession limit of 1 |
White shark | No take |
Sand tiger shark | No take |
Speartooth shark | No take |
Hammerhead sharks | No take |
Species | Size and possession limits |
---|---|
All | 35cm min 4 per person with no more than 1 over 70cm / 8 per boat with no more than 2 over 70cm (with 2 or more people on board) |
Species | Size and possession limits |
---|---|
All | 35cm min Possession limit of 20 |
Species | Size and possession limits |
---|---|
All | 38cm min Possession limit of 5 |
Species | Size and possession limits |
---|---|
King (East coast) | 65cm min Possession limit of 5 |
King (Gulf of Carpentaria) | 60cm min Possession limit of 5 |
Blue (East coast) | 40cm min Possession limit of 10 |
Blue (Gulf of Carpentaria) | 40cm min Possession limit of 20 |
Includes but is not limited to trevally and scad/yakka.
Species | Size and possession limits |
---|---|
All (exceptions follow) | No size limit Combined limit of 20 in total for all members of the Carangidae family |
Amberjack and Samsonfish | 50cm min Combined limit of 2 in total of both species |
Swallowtail dart | 30cm min Possession limit of 30 |
Giant queenfish | 50cm min Possession limit of 5 |
Yellowtail kingfish | 60cm min Possession limit of 2 |
Species | Size and possession limits |
---|---|
All | 8cm min 12.5cm max Possession limit of 30 |
Species | Size and possession limits |
---|---|
All (exceptions follow) | No size limit Combined possession limit of 5 per person / 10 per boat in total of all species (with 2 or more people on board) |
Painted crayfish †#^ (Panulirus ornatus) | 11.5cm tail min 9cm carapace min Combined possession limit of 5 per person / 10 per boat in total of all species (with 2 or more people on board) |
Red Champagne Lobster | 7.5 min Combined possession limit of 5 per person / 10 per boat in total of all species (with 2 or more people on board) |
Species | Size and possession limits |
---|---|
All | 75cm min Possession limit of 2 |
Species | Size and possession limits |
---|---|
Sand (summer), Goldenline and Northern | 23cm min Combined limit of 30 in total of these whiting species |
Trumpeter (winter) | No size limit Possession limit of 50 |
Species | Size and possession limits |
---|---|
All | No size limit Possession limit of 10 |
Species | Size and possession limits |
---|---|
Beach worm | No size limit Possession limit of 30 |
Cribb Island worms – formerly known as bloodworms | No size limit Possession limit of 50 |
Species | Size and possession limits |
Southern herring | No size or possession limit |
Common hardyhead | No size or possession limit |
Australian sardine | No size or possession limit |
Australian anchovy | No size or possession limit |
Silver biddy | No size or possession limit |
Saltwater yabby | No size or possession limit |
Soldier crab | No size or possession limit |
Non-regulated worms (e.g. mangrove worm) | No size or possession limit |
Mullet (excluding diamondscale, sea and freshwater) | No size limit Possession limit of 50 |
Cuttlefish or squid (excluding tiger squid) | No size limit Possession limit of 50 |
Smooth-clawed rock crab | No size limit Possession limit of 50 |
Yellowtail pike | No size limit Possession limit of 50 |
Notes:
There is a general possession limit of 20 for all freshwater species not listed on this page.
Freshwater species |
---|
Species | Size and possession limits |
---|---|
All | 30cm min Possession limit of 5 |
All | 30cm min Possession limit of 2 |
Species | Size and possession limits |
---|---|
All | No take |
Species | Size and possession limits |
---|---|
All | 58cm min 120cm max (1 greater than 120cm from some dams) Possession limit of 5 per person / 10 per boat (with 2 or more people on board Possession limit of 1 per person / 2 per boat (with 2 or more people on board) during the closed season for some dams Read note 1 |
Species | Size and possession limits |
---|---|
All | No size limit Combined limit of 10 in total of Macrobrachium lar and M. rosenbergii species |
Species | Size and possession limits |
---|---|
Bloomfield River cod | No take |
Mary River cod (no take except upstream of the walls within Cressbrook, Ewan Maddock, Hinze, Maroon, Moogerah, North Pine, Somerset, Wivenhoe and Wyaralong dams; lakes Dyer (Bill Gunn Dam), Clarendon, Manchester and Kurwongbah (Sideling Creek Dam); Caboolture River Weir; Enoggera Reservoir and Robina Lakes) | 60cm min Possession limit of 1 |
Mary River cod (elsewhere in Queensland) | No take |
Murray cod † (Queensland part of Murray-Darling Drainage Division) | 60cm min Possession limit of 2 Read note 1 |
Species | Size and possession limits |
---|---|
Longfin, Pacific shortfin (south Pacific) and Southern shortfin | 30cm min Combined limit of 10 in total of all species |
Species | Size and possession limits |
---|---|
All | 35cm min Combined limit of 5 in total of fish in the general Neosilurus, Tandanus and Neosiluroides families (e.g. black, Cooper Creek, eel-tailed, false spine, short-finned and Hyrtl’s tandan) |
Size and possession limits | |
---|---|
All | No take |
Species | Size and possession limits |
---|---|
All | No size limit Possession limit of 50 |
Species | Size and possession limits |
---|---|
Cling goby (of the subfamily Sicydiinae) | No take |
Species | Size and possession limits |
---|---|
Edgbaston hardyhead, Myross hardyhead | No take (Thomson river) |
Species | Size and possession limits |
---|---|
All | 35cm min Possession limit of 5 |
Includes pipis, mud whelks and cockles. Excludes oysters
Species | Size and possession limits |
---|---|
All | No size limit Combined possession limit of 30 except in Moreton Bay where bivalve molluscs and gastropods (excluding pipis) are no take. |
Species | Size and possession limits |
---|---|
Freshwater |
30 cm min Possession limit of 20 |
Diamonscale | 30cm min Possession limit of 20 |
Sea |
30 cm min Possession limit of 20 |
Mullet exceptions (all other mullet except diamondscale, sea and freshwater) |
No size limit Possession limit of 50 |
Species | Size and possession limits |
---|---|
Golden perch (yellowbelly) | 30cm min Possession limit of 10 |
Jungle perch and Spotted flagtail (northern jungle perch) | 35cm max Combined limit of 1 in total of jungle perch and spotted flagtail |
Silver perch, Barcoo grunter and Welch’s grunter | 30cm min Combined limit of 5 in total of these species (no more than 2 of these fish can be silver perch) Silver perch in Paroo and Warrego River basins are a no take species |
Sooty grunter | 28cm min Combined limit of 10 in total for Sooty grunter and Khaki grunter species |
Khaki grunter (khaki bream) | No size limit Combined limit of 10 in total for Sooty grunter and Khaki grunter species |
Species | Size and possession limits |
---|---|
All | No size limit Combined limit of 20 per species |
In its natural range including Gulf of Carpentaria Drainage Division and from the Jacky Jacky River basin south to the Normanby River basin on the east coast of Queensland.
Species | Size and possession limits |
---|---|
All | No size limit Possession limit of 40 |
Species | Size and possession limits |
---|---|
All | No take |
Species | Size and possession limits |
---|---|
Northern and Southern | 50cm min Combined limit of 1 in total of these species |
Species | Size and possession limits |
---|---|
All | No take |
Species | Size and possession limits |
---|---|
All | No size limit Possession limit of 100 Read note 2 |
Notes:
Recreational fishing rules, 04 Jan 2021, [https://www.qld.gov.au/recreation/activities/boating-fishing/rec-fishing/rules]
This document is uncontrolled when printed. Before using the information in this document you should verify the current content on https://www.qld.gov.au/recreation/activities/boating-fishing/rec-fishing/rules.