Commercial Garfish closure
Temporary closures to commercial Southern Garfish fishing will take place in Spencer Gulf and Gulf St Vincent for separate 20-day periods between 12 May and 24 June 2012. Find out more.

Interim Snapper limit announced
A commercial daily trip limit for Snapper has been introduced as an interim measure to protect local stocks. The change is effective 1 January to 31 June 2012 and will contain commercial fishers to an 800 kg daily commercial trip limit within gulf waters. View map of the restricted areas (pdf 254.8 KB) and answers to frequently asked questions.

Closed Areas

Fishing for all or some species might be prohibited in specified areas to ensure a sustainable fish stock and to maintain ecological habitats.

Freshwater



River Murray
Area Closure Prohibited species
Within 150 m of locks and weirs Total fishing ban All species
All waters 1 August to 31 December (inclusive) Murray cod


Onkaparinga River
Area Closure Prohibited species
Upstream of the Main South Road Bridge at Noarlunga 1 September to 30 November (inclusive) Bream (all species)



Marine



Backstairs Passage
Area Closure Prohibited species
All (See map)  All year Blue groper


Goolwa
Area Closure Prohibited species
Goolwa

NOTE: A temporary closure is currently in place for recreational Pipi fishing from 5 km south of Beach Road, Goolwa Beach to Middleton Point (near Mill Terrace at Middleton), after testing found levels of E.coli considered unsafe for human consumption. The closure is in place from midnight 30 April 2012 until midnight 31 May 2012. View a map of the closure zone and view frequently asked questions.

Annual closure - 1 June to 31 October (inclusive).

Recreational fishing for Pipis (Goolwa cockles) is restricted to the Sir Richard Peninsula (Goolwa Beach), north of the Murray Mouth.

Recreational fishers are permitted to take pipi from the Coorong Beach, but only from the beach from 28 Mile Crossing and the Kingston SE jetty. View a map of this new recreational zone (PDF 2.6 MB).

No recreational fishing for Pipis is permitted on the Younghusband Peninsula (Coorong Beach), between the Murray Mouth and 28 Mile Crossing.

 Pipis (Goolwa cockles)


Gulf St Vincent
Area Closure Prohibited species
Waters off the coast of Wirrina Cove (Fleurieu Reef) bounded by a circle of radius 0.5 of a nautical mile centred on a point at latitude 35o28’48.90”  south, longitude 138o09’34.85” east Total fishing ban All species
All waters All year Blue groper


Intertidal reefs
Area Closure Prohibited species
All coastal waters to a depth of 2 metres All year All benthic (bottom dwelling) marine organisms (The section on Intertidal reefs will give you more information about these organisms)


Investigator Strait
Area Closure Prohibited species
All All year Blue groper


Port River cockle fishing zone

Area Closure Prohibited species
Port River and surrounding waters (see map)

Note: The Port River Mud Cockle fishing zone is being closed to both recreational and commercial fishing due to concerns about sustainability. The taking of Mud Cockles will be prohibited from this zone from 1 July 2011 to 30 June 2012.

Answers to some frequently asked questions about those changes can be found here.

 Mud cockles (Katelysia species)

Spencer Gulf
Area Closure Prohibited species
Upper area within a line commencing on the shore of Spencer Gulf adjacent to beacon number 8, due east to that beacon then generally northerly to beacons 9, 13, 20, 19, 21, 23 and 28, then due west to Curlew Point During the months of January, February, October, November and December Razorfish

False Bay, near Whyalla: all waters of Spencer Gulf enclosed by a line from the lighthouse at Point Lowly to the southern end of the Point Bonython jetty, then in a south-westerly direction to the eastern most point of the Onesteel jetty (latitude 33o02’12.63” s, longitude 137o36’1.98”e) near Whyalla, then to high water mark at the base of the jetty, then following the high water mark along the shoreline in an easterly direction back to the lighthouse at Point Lowly

See Map 

 All year All cephalopods, including cuttlefish, squid and octopus


West Lakes
Area Closure Prohibited species
At inlets and in front of private residences around the Lake All year All species



Some aquatic reserves might also have prohibitions and restrictions on where you can fish and what species can be taken.

All coordinates given for locations are based on the Australian Geocentric Datum GDA94 which coincides almost exactly with WGS84. Some adjustments might be needed depending on the GPS navigational system used.