Reef fishing management

Most coastal reef fish species in the greater Darwin region are at risk of overfishing.

This is due to:

• slow growth, late maturity and a preference for aggregating (shelter, feeding or spawning)
• population growth increasing fishing rates over time
• advances in fishing technology (fish finding, positioning and gear improvements) increasing effectiveness of fishing
• low post-release survival because of barotrauma and capture stress response
• shark depredation of hooked and released fish.

Watch the video below to learn ways to help with the pressures of overfishing.

Management measures

The following measures have been in place since 2015:

• possession limits
• vessel limits
• limits on new fishing tour operator licences that target reef fish
• quotas for coastal line fishery licences
• introduction of reef protection areas to aid recovery.

Read more about recreational fishing for other rules and best practice behaviours.

Coastal line fishery harvest strategy

The coastal line fishery (CLF) is a multi-sector fishery that spans the entire Northern Territory (NT) coastline:

• from the high water mark to 15 nautical miles from the low water mark
• where fishing for coastal reef fish is primarily done using hook and line methods.

To help manage overfishing concerns in this fishery, the CLF harvest strategy has been in place since 1 July 2023.

This strategy blends ecological, social, and economic factors into a single framework.

Get the CLF harvest strategy PDF (2.6 MB).

Read more about the CLF and licences.

Key objectives

The strategy aims to:

• ensure stakeholders have a mutual understanding of reef fish resources
• monitor the performance of black jewfish, golden snapper, grass emperor and stripey snapper in the greater Darwin region:
  • read more about these fish species
• specify the pre-determined management actions that will be applied to various fishery conditions.

Golden snapper stock assessment

Stock assessments determine the status of fish populations using the latest data.

Golden snapper in the greater Darwin region are classified as depleting, with current stocks at only 21% of unfished levels - an unacceptable figure under the CLF harvest strategy.

The ongoing fishing pressure in the region is preventing stock recovery, and similar inshore reef fish may also be heavily impacted.

For more information read the:

• golden snapper stock assessment fact sheet PDF (254.7 KB)
• golden snapper stock assessment fact sheet DOCX (157.1 KB)
• stock assessment report PDF (3.8 MB)
• stock assessment report.

Recovery plan

The CLF harvest strategy requires a recovery plan for golden snapper and similar reef fish in the greater Darwin region.

A draft recovery plan will be developed in consultation with key stakeholders and released for public comment in 2025.

Contact

For more information, contact NT Fisheries.