Bag and Size Limits in Dams Ensures Fish For All Queenslanders
September 6, 2002

Imposing bag and size limits in stocked dams is vital to ensure that all Queenslanders enjoy the State’s fisheries resources.

Queensland Fisheries Service senior policy officer Michelle Hollaway said people often questioned why bag and size limits were imposed on stocked dams.

Ms Hollaway said the simple answer was to ensure that the resources were shared amongst as many people as possible, not just those who got in first.

She said people were encouraged to be ethical and responsible when fishing in stocked dams and take only what they needed.

“An important part of managing Queensland’s fisheries is to ensure that everyone has access to the resources, not just a select few,” Ms Hollaway said.

“By imposing bag and size limits on dams, we are preventing people from depleting the dam of legal-sized stocked fish before anyone else has a chance to come and enjoy the facilities.

“Public money is used to stock dams which is another reason why the resources need to be shared.”

Changes to bag and size limits in Queensland dams are among a range of proposals outlined in a Regulatory Impact Statement (RIS) for amendments to the Fisheries (Freshwater) Management Plan 1999.

Ms Hollaway said environmental considerations were also taken into account when imposing bag and size limits on dams which contained native fish species.

She said to ensure their sustainability, native fish in dams needed to be effectively managed.

Ms Hollaway said the eel-tailed catfish was a perfect example of a native species found in Queensland dams which faced a grim future without bag and size limits.

“The Murray Darling Basin Commission recently identified the eel-tailed catfish as under threat and a national recovery plan was needed to rehabilitate the species,” she said.

“The Commission also identified that Queensland contained a substantial proportion of the Murray-Darling Basin’s eel-tailed catfish which is why bag and size limits are vital for its survival particularly in this State.”

The public has until Friday October 11 to comment on the proposals outlined in the freshwater RIS.

Copies are available on the DPI Fishweb site at www.dpi.qld.gov.au/fishweb/ or by phoning the DPI Call Centre on 13 25 23.

Department of Primary Industries Media Unit
GPO Box 46 Brisbane Q 4001 Ph 07 3239 6380
DPI Call Centre 13 25 23 (weekdays 8 am to 6 pm)

Further information: Michelle Hollaway (07) 3227 7259
Communications Officer: Liz Smith (07) 3224 7757

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