Recreational fishers want to impose barramundi weight quota at popular fishing spots

Following changes to accessible fishing areas for commercial barramundi fishermen, there are fresh calls for a weight quota to be introduced to protect the industry.

Jason Tull with 135cm barra caught at Roper River, one of the spots AFANT is proposing a commercial fishing weight quota. Picture: Supplied

Northern Territory recreational fishing body, Amateur Fishermen’s Association of the Northern Territory (AFANT) is calling for weight-based catch quotas to be introduced for popular Top End catchments like the Daly and Roper Rivers.

The call comes after access changes were announced last year, which has possibly led to commercial fishers targeting popular recreational and Traditional fishing areas with their gillnetting practices.

AFANT president Warren de With said the government needed to rectify the situation to protect some of the NT’s most popular fishing zones.

“We are calling on the government to urgently address the concerns of businesses and community members by implementing interim catchment-based commercial barramundi quotas for 2024,” Mr de With said.

“Conservatively limiting the weight of fish allowed to be netted in each catchment will help to ensure that the Territory’s most iconic recreational fishery is protected in the short term.”

AFANT President Warren de With and AFANT Executive Officer David Ciaravolo. Picture: Justin Kennedy

Barramundi fishing is one of the Top End’s prime industries, supporting thousands of jobs and playing a major part in the Territory’s $270m recreational fishing and fishing tourism industry.

Significant areas of inter-tidal waters for commercial barramundi fishermen were closed by Traditional Owners in 2023, with up to 50 per cent of their catch displaced by the closures.

AFANT CEO, David Ciaravolo, said they were “seeking nothing more” than that “sensible policy” be put in place.

Jason Tull with 135cm barra caught at Roper River. Picture: Supplied

Chris Woolley with a 110cm barramundi from the Daly River. Picture: Supplied (Craig’s Fishing Warehouse)

“The Daly River and the Roper River barramundi fisheries are world class, abundant stocks must be actively protected, not left to chance,” he said.

“It’s through recreational fishing, fishing tourism and Traditional fishing, that the publicly owned barramundi fishery resources return the vast majority of benefits and value to the Territory.

“Without conservative commercial catch quotas in place those benefits and values remain under threat.”

AFANT claims they have been in constant engagement with the government seeking the “introduction of conservative, interim catch quotas” to ensure average harvest levels don’t exceed recent averages.

At this stage, no announcement has come from the NT government.

Originally published as Recreational fishers want to impose barramundi weight quota at popular fishing spots