Reef fish protection areas

You are not allowed to go recreational or commercial fishing in any reef fish protection areas. But you can travel through them if you are underway at all times.

These areas were introduced in 2015 to protect and recover reef fish that have been heavily fished over time.

This includes golden snapper, black jewfish and other vulnerable reef species.

These areas are also being monitored by NT Fisheries using non-invasive Baited Remote Underwater Video Stations (BRUVS) at:

• Charles Point Wide
• Bathurst Island
• Lorna Shoal.

The BRUVS surveys indicate a positive effect of the protection areas, with 2.8 times more black jewfish and golden snapper observed inside the reef fish protection area (RFPAs) than outside.

For information about the monitoring and benefits of RFPAs, read the Reef Fish Protection Area Monitoring Protection Factsheet PDF (560.6 KB).

Check the boundaries and closure coordinates for each area using the maps below.

Coordinates are shown in Geocentric Datum of Australia 1994 (GDA94) degrees and decimal minutes.

Bathurst Island

The Bathurst Island protection area covers reef fish around Darwin and reef habitats along the west coast of the island.

It is designed to open key reactional fishing sites while protecting the reef habitats:

• at the southern end of Port Hurd
• around Cape Helvetius and Cape Fourcroy.

Melville Island

The Melville Island protection area covers the eastern coast of the Tiwi Islands.

It is an area that provides proactive protection to areas that may be linked to:

• Chambers
• Finke Bay coastal reefs.

Charles Point Wide

The Charles Point Wide protection area is a key black jewfish spawning aggregation that feeds Darwin Harbour.

Lorna Shoal

The Lorna Shoal protection area covers a reef habitat for species that have been overfished in recent years.

It protects these species while still allowing other reef habitats for recreational fishing.

Protection of this area will:

• reduce the impact of ongoing catch
• allow rejuvenation of the stocks
• ultimately bolster the depleted spawning capacity of the area.

Moyle and Port Keats

The Moyle and Port Keats protection area covers fish that may be linked to Anson Bay, Peron Islands, Dundee and Fog Bay.

This area is designed to protect known aggregations while still allowing fishing on the numerous reefs closer to the coastline