Rock lobster season dates and rule amendments

Rock lobster © DPIPWE Fishing

The dates for the 2019 rock lobster season will be:

East Coast Stock Rebuilding Zone (ECSRZ)

• The recreational sector will open on Saturday 7 December 2019 and the entire Eastern Region including the ECSRZ closes on 30 April 2020; and
• The commercial sector will open on Tuesday 10 December 2019.

• The recreational sector will open on 2 November 2019; and
• The commercial sector will open on 15 November 2019.

Amendments have been made to the Tasmanian Rock Lobster Fishery Management Plan resulting in the following changes applying from 1 November 2019:

• Increasing the female legal minimum size limit in the north western part of the rock lobster fishery from 105mm to 120mm between Point Sorell on the north coast and the Henty River on the west coast.
• Increasing the maximum number of pots that can be set from a commercial vessel from 50 to 60 for the western half of the State from Bluff Hill Point (41 degreesS) to South Cape.
• Removing the vessel length/pot numbers schedule and associated alternative methods for determining how many pots can be on a commercial rock lobster vessel.
• Removing the endorsement to unload rock lobster outside of State waters;
• Reducing the recreational boat limit in the Northern Bass Strait western region from 25 to 10;
• Including a provision to allow the publication of a public notice on a website; and
• Providing greater flexibility for communication methods associated with the notification of pots that cannot be retrieved within the 48 time period.