Closed seasons and waters

Queensland has closed seasons and closed waters in place.

Closed seasons

Closed seasons prevent people fishing for certain species at certain times of the year, to protect those species at vulnerable times in their life cycle, such as during spawning seasons. You should not target those fish during a closed season.

Closed waters

Closed waters prevent people from fishing or using particular fishing gear in certain areas:

• where a population of endangered or threatened species lives
• where fish gather during or before spawning
• near artificial barriers where large numbers of fish may collect or get trapped and be susceptible to overfishing
• to separate incompatible uses (e.g. spearfishing in a swimming area)
• to enable successful migration of fish through fishways.

Fishing guides