Rock Lobster season opened on the 15th November, and will run through until 30th June next year. There have been a few changes to the licence, most notably the boat possession limit which is 12 per boat..
To be able to catch rock lobster, you'll need a licence available from the Department of Fisheries online. It is $40 for the Rock Lobster licence, however you may also want to get the new Recreational Boat Fishing licence (you'll need at least one person with this licence on a boat if you are fishing), which is only $23 after the discount is applied. Remember, this money goes towards protecting the future of our fishing stocks!
Please read the PDF (take a copy for reference on your boat) for further information.Some important key notes;
- There is a night fishing ban from 7.20pm to 4.30am until 31st March, and then 6pm to 6am for the remainder of the season.
- Please make sure you understand what lobsters you MUST return even if they are size; 'Berried Females', and 'Setose or Tarspot Females' must be returned immediately. If you can, check while you are down there to prevent unnecessary trauma. Learn to identify males from females.
- We predominately get the Western Rock Lobster, which has a size limit of 77mm. Please be aware that you may sometimes catch a Southern Rock Lobster which can be usually be identified by white stripes on their antennae, and have a different shaped head. The Southern Rock Lobster has a size limit of 98.5mm - so make sure you have a guage for that, and you can correctly identify the two.
- Make sure you make a 10mm wide clip on the lobsters tail within 5 minutes of removing them from the water.
I preferrably like to check the size of the lobster once I have caught him and release straight away if not size. It is hard to visually judge (objects appear larger underwater), and placing them in a catch bag, and then expecting them to make it safetly to the bottom after taking them onto a boat is a bit rough! We must protect the lobster to ensure its future - current stocks indicate in two to three years there will be an alarmingly low level of lobsters - which makes it harder for us to catch!
If you need any equipment or information, please come into the store and speak with us.
Mike
