North Australian FISH FINDER TM forums

While doing a bit of land based fishing lately I have noticed a couple groups of people fishing some of the popular spots.
These guys have several rods each.
Tiny hooks and keep everything no mater the size.
Had a go at them once or twice about what they are keeping.
Here in the NT we have quite relaxed fishing regulations compared to other states.
Should size limits be extended to other popular fish to protect future fish stocks.
I would hate to see some of the local land based areas end up fished out.

Wouldn't hurt but unless there is enforcement there is probably no point.

There are size limits on some species. Many fish probably don't need size limits in the NT.

One of the joys of the NT are the relatively simple regulations, the rules in some other states are painfully complicated.

Size limits become a bit nonsensical when you consider the potential impacts of barotrauma. My understanding is that NT Fisheries try to avoid size limits where possible and rely more on the education of anglers to make an informed decision about whether they should keep or release a fish i.e. a small Goldie caught from a deep water reef should be retained as part of your catch as it will more than likely die from barotrauma, while a Goldie caught from a shallow creek could be released if not wanted as it’s chances of survival are good. If a size limit was imposed on many of our reef species then you are forcing an angler to let a fish go that the science says will die from barotrauma. Difficult decision for the regulators and no easy solution.