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.

Policy Directives

Under Section 115 of the Fisheries Management Act 2007 the Director of the PIRSA Fisheries Division can issue directives allowing exemptions to specific duties and responsibilities outlined in the Act.

You can download copies of the following directives or phone the FISHWATCH hotline on 1800 065 522 and ask for a copy to be sent to you.

Commercial harvest of turbo shells (.PDF) 48KB
Policy Directive no. 1 of 2005

Commercial harvest of new species (.PDF) 46KB
Policy Directive no. 2 of 2005
Details about current arrangements and exemptions for the commercial harvest of turbo shells and plans for the future management of the exploratory and developmental fishery.  Please note that these policies are currently being reviewed and will continue to apply pending the creation of a new Exploratory and Developmental Fisheries Policy under the Fisheries Management Act 2007.

Collection of broodstock and seedstock for aquaculture (.PDF) 1.18MB
Policy Directive no. 2 of 2008
Covers the principles used to approve  applications for the collection of broodstock and seedstock (juvenile animals) from the wild, with specific guidelines for the species most commonly collected in South Australia.

Waiver of application fees (.PDF) 147KB
Policy Directive no. 3 of 2008
In some circumstances the Director of Fisheries can waive permit or exemption fees. Applications for fee relief are considered on a case-by-case basis and might be considered for:

  • universities or other research agencies
  • volunteer or not-for-profit community groups
  • commercial fishers in emergency circumstances only, for example accidental vessel damage, extreme financial hardship, etc 
  • government agencies.

Debt management - Fisheries Division (.PDF) 87KB
Policy Directive no. 4 of 2008
This policy directive outlines the process to be followed with respect to debt recovery within the Fisheries Division.

Issue of commercial fishing licences (.PDF) 112KB
Policy Directive no. 5 of 2008
This policy directive outlines the process to be followed with respect to the issue of commercial fishing licences within the Fisheries Division. 

Escaped aquaculture fish policy (.PDF) 93KB
This paper provides background on the risks associated with fish escapes from an aquaculture farm and documents a policy position on measures needed to mitigate adverse ecological impacts in the event of fish escaping.