Vessel tracking requirements for commercial fisheries
Vessel tracking is required across the entire commercial fishing fleet, with a few fishery exceptions.
You must:
- use a Fisheries Queensland approved unit
- register the unit in FishNet Secure
- comply with the installation and maintenance standard
- meet your work health and safety responsibilities
- confirm your unit is polling before you go fishing.
Harvest fisheries
Must have a vessel tracking unit:
- A1: Aquarium fish fishery
- A2: Aquarium fish fishery
- B1: Sea cucumber (beche-de-mer) fishery
- D: Coral fishery
- J1: Trochus (east coast)
- R: Tropical rock lobster fishery
Not required for:
- P: Pearl fishery
- F: Shell fishery
- G: Shell grit fishery
- H: Star sand fishery
- O: Oyster fishery
- W1: Worm fishery (beachworm)
- W2: Worm fishery (bloodworm)
- Y: Yabby fishery
Crab fisheries
Must have a vessel tracking unit:
- C1: Crab fishery (other than spanner crab)
- C2: Crab fishery (spanner crab)
- C3: Crab fishery (spanner crab)
Net fisheries
Must have a vessel tracking unit:
- N3: Net fishery (Gulf of Carpentaria—no. 1)
- N10: Net fishery (east coast—no. 4)
- N11: Net fishery (no. 11)
- N12: Net fishery (Gulf of Carpentaria—offshore)
- N13: Net fishery (Gulf of Carpentaria—offshore)
- N15: Net fishery (management region 5)
- NX: Net fishery (limited life—management region 2–4)
- K1: Net fishery (ocean beach area 1)
- K2: Net fishery (ocean beach area 2)
- K3: Net fishery (ocean beach area 3)
- K4: Net fishery (ocean beach area 4)
- K5: Net fishery (ocean beach area 5)
- K6: Net fishery (ocean beach area 6)
- K7: Net fishery (ocean beach area 7)
- K8: Net fishery (ocean beach area 8)
Line fisheries
Must have a vessel tracking unit:
- L1: Line fishery (other than Great Barrier Reef region)
- L2: Line fishery (reef)
- L3: Line fishery (reef)
- L4: Line fishery (Gulf of Carpentaria—Spanish mackerel and other fin fish)
- L8: Line fishery (multiple hook—east coast)
Trawl fisheries
Must have a vessel tracking unit:
- T1: Trawl fishery
- T2: Trawl fishery
- M1: Moreton Bay trawl regions
- M2: Moreton Bay trawl regions
- T4: Trawl fishery (fin fish)
- T5: Trawl fishery (river and inshore area 1)
- T6: Trawl fishery (river and inshore area 2)
- T7: Trawl fishery (river and inshore area 3)
- T8: Trawl fishery (river and inshore area 4)
- T9: Trawl fishery (river and inshore area 5)
Eel fishery
Not required for:
Legislation
For all vessel tracking requirements, refer to:
- Fisheries Act 1994
- Fisheries (General) Regulation 2019
- Fisheries (Commercial Fisheries) Regulation 2019.