Mud crab fishery

Fishery symbol

• C1: Other than spanner crab

Management

• Mud crab harvest strategy
• Crab fishery working group

Operating areas

• Area of the C1 crab fishery

Quota entitlement

The fishery is a quota-managed fishery:

• individual transferable quotas (ITQs) units allocated to each primary commercial fishing licence
• management regions:
• EC1 – east coast mud crab
• GC1 – Gulf of Carpentaria mud crab.

A licence holder must have at least 1.2 tonnes of quota entitlement for the relevant management region before they are allowed to fish.

This quota entitlement:

• does not decrease as fishing activity occurs
• can increase or decrease if quota units are transferred into or out of the licence holder's account.

Quota entitlement is calculated as:

• opening quota balance + quota transferred in – quota transferred out.

The licence holder can check their quota entitlement through the Automated Interactive Voice Response (AIVR) system and on FishNet Secure.

Licences

To operate in the commercial crab fishery, you need a:

• commercial fisher licence for the person in charge of fishing activities
• primary commercial fishing licence with the relevant fishery symbol.

Reporting and monitoring

Commercial crab fishers must:

• report trip and catch notices
• pre-trip notice
• amending notice
• prior notice
• weight notice
• emergency notice
• catch disposal record
• complete daily logbooks
• keep sale dockets
• have vessel tracking on their boats
• comply with state marine park and Great Barrier Reef Marine Park zoning rules.

Closures

• Eurimbula Creek – all waters closed to taking mud crabs.

Equipment

The number of crab pots, collapsible traps or dillies that can be used depends on how many C1 symbols are on a primary commercial fishing licence:

• 1 x C1 symbol – maximum of 50 pots, collapsible traps or dillies can be used at the same time
• 2 x C1 symbols – maximum of 100 pots, collapsible traps or dillies can be used at the same time

This fishing gear must be checked at least every 7 days after being set.

Escape vents

Crab pots, collapsible traps and dillies must have escape vents, either:

• 1 large rectangular escape vent: opening at least 120mm long and 50mm wide
• 2 small rectangular escape vents: opening at least 75mm long and 60mm wide
• 1 round escape vent: opening at least 105mm in diameter.

Dillies

Dillies must have:

• a maximum area of 1 square metre within the frame
• a maximum net drop of 10cm below the frame
• 1 layer of mesh only
• square or rectangular mesh with a minimum size of 25mm.

Trotlines

Fishers can fish using pots arranged along a trotline (excluding some areas):

• no more than 10 pots are permitted on a single line
• you must mark the trotlines with a prescribed buoy and flagpole.

Size and take limits

• It is prohibited to take female mud crabs – they must be immediately returned to the water.
• Minimum length of 15cm across widest part of its carapace (tip to tip).