Fish bites: SA snapper limits remain unchanged

However, the South Australian government has warned the state's official app used to keep track of legal limits may be wrong for some users, with an update to correct the anomaly on the way.

A bag limit of two fish more than 38cm in length, or six if three or more people are on a boat, was introduced last year as the South Australian Department of Primary Industries and Regions sought to help depleted snapper stocks rebuild.

The state also has mandatory reporting in place for snapper caught in the South-East Fisheries Zone, with anglers required to either use the SA Fishing App or phone in to record their catch.

Fishing for snapper on the West Coast, in Spencer Gulf and Gulf St Vincent/Kangaroo Island Fishing Zones remains closed until June 30, 2026.

Mackay and Gladstone have become the first two volunteer marine rescue units to move across to the new Marine Rescue Queensland structure that will eventually bring all services under one umbrella organisation.

Over the next 12 to 18 months, all Volunteer Marine Rescue Association Queensland (VMRAQ) squadrons and Australian Volunteer Coast Guard Association’s (AVCGA) flotillas will merge into one integrated, state-wide service, Marine Rescue Queensland.

Under the changes, anyone needing to use the services of MRQ Mackay or MRQ Gladstone will receive a free tow as long as it is inside their respective operational zones.

However, rescue services that are yet to make the move across to Marine Rescue Queensland – they will continue to use the “VMR” callsign – still need to raise revenue to support their services, meaning that if anyone needing support out on the water is not subscribers to the service and there are not enough sponsorship dollars to cover costs, they could be asked to contribute to the expense of being rescued.

VMR Queensland’s 46 volunteer rescue services answer about 4000 calls for assistance a year. More rescue services will make the changeover to the MRQ service in five stages.

The contentious MRQ aims to provide more support, protection and equipment for the state’s marine rescue services that previously had to find their own funding.

MRQ is supported by the Queensland Police Service via its water police unit.

Tuna has jumped three places higher in the VRFish rankings of the most popular species Victoria’s recreational fishing enthusiasts target in the state, the activist group’s latest member survey shows.

Tuna was previously ranked out of the count in the 2022 member survey but it has landed in 18th spot on the latest survey released this week, likely due to the cracking tuna season sweeping the south-western part of the state.

Also making gains in the survey is Murray cod, rising two places to seventh in the listing, and the only invasive species on the list, redfin, which climbed one spot to sit ninth on the list.

The rise of cod and redfin has come at the expense of calamari/squid, which drops one spot to eighth on the list, and gummy shark, which has dropped two spots to finish 10th on the list.

Falling out of favour falling one spot each are the elusive estuary perch in 19th, and western district favourite mulloway in 20th spot.

The top-five fish species targeted by recreational anglers in the survey remain at King George whiting, snapper, flathead, rainbow trout and brown trout.

Fisheries Tasmania is on the hunt for the perfect photo that it will print on the cover of its 2024-25 Recreational Sea Fishing Guide.

If you have what you reckon it takes, head over to the Fisheries Tasmania page on Facebook and add your image in the comments section of the post announcing the image hunt.

According to the post, anyone posting an image that shows one of the state’s five fishing aggregation devices (FADs) located along the state’s eastern shoreline, or showing someone handling a fish in a responsible way, will receive bonus points for selection.