Fishing Qld: State in midst of big barra bonanza

Anglers in multiple locations along the Queensland coast have been hooking huge barramundi and king threadfin in a boom being attributed to a ban on gill net fishing. See where the prime spots are.

It’s Queensland’s big barra bonanza.

Anglers in Cairns, Rockhampton and Mackay have been hooking huge barramundi and king threadfin in a boom being attributed to a ban on gill net fishing.

A new report, co-written by Queensland’s former chief scientist Professor Hugh Possingham for World Wide Fund for Nature – Australia, the average length of tagged barramundi caught in Cairns has jumped 30 per cent to 73.7cm while those reeled in Rocky and Mackay have jumped in size by almost 25 per cent and 13 per cent respectively.

Meanwhile, more than 60 per cent of prized king threadfin caught in Rockhampton’s Fitzroy River are now exceeding a metre compared with just two per cent before the net ban came into force eight years ago, according to the “Net Gains” report.

The bumper catches have delighted recreational fishers including Rockhampton locals Stephen Purnell and Michael Powell.

They say that in 2015, the last year of commercial gill net fishing in the Fitzroy River, the nets took 85.6 tonnes of barra and 56.1 tonnes of threadfin, leaving little behind for rec fishers.

Rockhampton Recreational Fishers’ Michael Powell holding a huge barramundi he caught and then released

“Prior to the nets closure, we caught mostly undersized barramundi; if someone caught a metre barramundi it was pretty phenomenal,” Mr Powell said.

“About a month after the closure, my son caught his first metre-long barra in the town reaches of the river.

“Anyone who catches a fish that size, the next day they’re looking for exactly the same thing – it’s such a rush.”

Mr Purnell said: “When the nets were operating you’d hear about someone catching a 1.2 metre barra once every six months, now it’s a weekly occurrence.

“Previously, you would never get a 1.2 metre king threadfin, now we’re talking up to 1.5 metres. They look like big prehistoric dinosaurs. Knowing they’re out there and can be caught is a buzz.”

Stephen Purnell with a one-metre-plus king threadfin just prior to releasing it.

“It’s the initial hit – the rod nearly falls out of your hand. That’s the addiction for me, it gets you excited,” added Mr Purnell, who doesn’t even eat fish.

Mr Powell said he had measured and tagged about 11,500 fish in 24 years of recreational fishing, and the increasing size of barra and threadfin was “not hearsay”.

“It’s coming up in the data – it’s quite noticeable that people are catching a lot bigger fish,” he said.

Richard Leck, Head of Oceans for WWF-Australia, said the report mounted a compelling case for further action on gill nets.

“Making the Reef free from commercial gill netting protects turtles, inshore dolphins, dugongs, sawfish and other threatened species from drowning in these destructive nets,” he said.

“A gill net free Reef doesn’t just benefit threatened species – fish stocks are replenished, the ecosystem becomes healthier, and fishing tourism increases boosting local economies.”

The WWF-Australia has bought and shelved four gill net licences in Queensland.

Queensland Seafood Industry Association president Allan Bobbermen was sceptical about the report, questioning whether other factors such as weather were behind the rise in bigger barramundi and threadfin.

Mr Bobbermen said green groups like the WWF “selfishly” wanted to end commercial fishing, denying consumers wild-caught seafood, and there were already enough restrictions to protect fish stocks.