Trip possession limits per the latest recreational fishing guide
Hi all.
It may have been covered in previous posts, but i've just noticed the current revision of the recreational fishing guide mentions the following:
A boat limit is the maximum number of fish of a species or group of species that may be on a boat or attached to a boat (including tender vessels) at any one time. This limit applies regardless of how long the vessel is at sea.
I could have sworn the previous guides allowed for 2 days bag limit if overnighting, however, this is not highlighted as a change to the rules in the opening pages of the guide. Can anyone confirm if this is a change?
The current revision of the guide also mentions the following:
Exceptions to the general finfish possession limit
Overnight charter trip
The finfish possession limit if you are on, or have just completed, an extended fishing tour involving overnight accommodation on a charter boat and the fish were taken during the course of the tour, is;
• 20 kg of fillets of any species; OR
• 10 kg of fillets and one day’s bag limit of whole fish or fish trunks; OR
• 2 days’ bag limit of whole fish or fish trunks.
Both of the above statements combined suggest anyone doing extended trips offshore (eg Rotto or Monties or Mackies) are only entitled to come home with 1 day's bag limit or 10kg of fillets. Thoughts? Imagine how ridiculous it would be getting stung by Fisheries on the way home from Rotto because of a rule that IMO makes absolutely no sense.
sea-kem
Posts: 15016
Date Joined: 30/11/09
It says 20kg fillets of any
It says 20kg fillets of any species (pretty generous) or 10kg of fillets AND one day's bag limit of whole fish, which up north would equate to 5 fish.
Or 2 days bag limit whole fish which up north again would be 10 whole fish. Or am I missing something?
Love the West!
chevaps
Posts: 87
Date Joined: 04/01/13
sea-kem, that's the
sea-kem, that's the possession limit at place of residence, which i'm aware of. I was actually questioning the 1 day bag limit rule for boats, and wondering if that was changed in the most recent update.
The statements i've included above are applicable to trips on the water, and indicate only a single day bag limit is permissible on a boat, irrespective of how long at sea, with the only exception being people that live aboard on a charter. I feel my interpretation can catch people out if they spend multiple days at sea (eg. You spend a week moored at Rotto, do day trips from there, and when you cruise back to the mainland, by the above statements, you can only have 1 day's bag limit on board. Same goes for those travelling to the Monties.).
sea-kem
Posts: 15016
Date Joined: 30/11/09
Ahhh ok I see it now, yeah
Ahhh ok I see it now, yeah it looks like you're right.
Love the West!
Yewiefish85
Posts: 792
Date Joined: 02/01/11
Is this the 2023 edition
Is this the 2023 edition that you are referring to?, I have had a look at it from the link on the fisheries website, the way I read it is there is still a boat possession limit of 4 demersal scale fish, this is what fisheries will look at regardless of how many people are on board, this rule excludes charter boats, this applies to west coast bioregion and Abrolhos islands, south coast, Gascoyne and north coast boiregion the boat limit doesn't apply
Yewiefish85
Posts: 792
Date Joined: 02/01/11
Is this the 2023 edition
Is this the 2023 edition that you are referring to?, I have had a look at it from the link on the fisheries website, the way I read it is there is still a boat possession limit of 4 demersal scale fish, this is what fisheries will look at regardless of how many people are on board, this rule excludes charter boats, this applies to west coast bioregion and Abrolhos islands, south coast, Gascoyne and north coast boiregion the boat limit doesn't apply
Bodgy 79
Posts: 293
Date Joined: 04/08/22
App
Recfishwest app click on other info in main menu.comprehensive info on limits there
ChopChop
Posts: 69
Date Joined: 17/01/15
I don’t think the 10kg applies to transport by boat anymore.
I might be wrong. It's confusing! Seems ridiculous that a charter can come home with 20kg of demersal fillets ( no change ) but recs are 1 day boat limit. Encourages upgrades to get the biggest individual fillets which is not a great outcome. 10kg demersal and 10kg pelagic would be quite reasonable. For both recs and charter. Need some way of encouraging more sharks to feature on the fillet tables!
Jsmolly
Posts: 187
Date Joined: 10/04/12
I stay at rotto with family,
I stay at rotto with family, take the boat but put family on ferry.
Send the fish back on the ferry = 20kg.
Take home on the boat = 10kg.
Does it get more ridiculous?!
Reefsta
Posts: 321
Date Joined: 03/08/19
Cray limit also applies if on boat even for days
Last year a mate staying aboard his boat at Rotto for a couple of weeks was catching a few crays from his tender. One or two a day soon added up, so he started keeping some in a crate hung from the transom of the liveabord on the mooring. Was no drama, but when inspected he was told he could only keep the one day bag limit (8), as they were not yet "landed". However there would have been nothing to stop some being taken ashore and gifted to his partner and taken back on the ferry. I guess that is the only way they can check compliance.
sunshine
Posts: 2620
Date Joined: 03/03/09
I would have thought the KEY word is CHARTER boat
Hence you must have slept or been on a paid overnight charter .......the devil is in the detail
wrasse magnet
Posts: 126
Date Joined: 16/10/10
July last year we did an
July last year we did an overnighter at Turtle Bay, top of DHI. Before the trip I queried this with fisheries via their web site, got a call from fisheries officer who confirmed doing an overnighter our limit was two-days bag limit. After the overnighter we were checked by fisheries in Denham and there were no issues with us having more than one days bag limit.
If you're doing an overnigher up north bear in mind your posession limit when you hit the road - depending on what you catch it can be entirely possible to be under your possesion limit for whole fish but over your kg limit after you fillet, another mind bending aspect of our current rules!
If in doubt ask fisheries, when I query rules in the future I will be sending them an email with no phone number, that way they have to reply and put it on paper. It was good that they called to answer the question but I would much rather have had the response on paper for future use if required.