Adult eel fishery

Fishery symbol

• E: Adult eel fishery

Operating areas

• Area of the E eel fishery - adults

Commercial fishing of adult eel may only be trapped from these waters, as stated on their primary commercial fishing licence:

• private, artificially created impoundment (e.g. a farm dam)
• public impoundment formed by a dam (e.g. Cressbrook Dam).

Public water management agencies allow adult eel trapping in limited impoundments, as stated on the eel fishers licence

Licences

To operate in the fishery, you need a:

• primary commercial fishing licence with the E fishery symbol
• this symbol cannot be transferred between licences
• commercial fisher licence for the person in charge of fishing activities.

Reporting and monitoring

Commercial fishers must:

• complete daily logbooks
• keep sale dockets.

Closures

You cannot trap eels in:

• natural freshwaters, such as rivers, streams, creeks, lagoons and natural swamps
• waters impounded by other structures, such as weirs.

These refuges allow mature adults to return to the sea to spawn, without being exposed to fishing pressure.

Equipment

Adult eels can only be harvested using:

• baited eel traps
• round traps.

These traps are usually set on the bottom of an impoundment and baited with pilchards or mullet.

Maximum size limits

• Baited eel trap— 2m x 0.6m x 0.6m when set.
• Round trap— 1m (diameter) x 0.6m (high) when set.

Trap design

• The trap's frame must be made of a rigid material and is usually covered by knotted or knotless nylon net.
• A trap (other than its pocket) must have a mesh size of at least 25mm. Any rigid mesh on the trap must be at least 22mm in each of its dimensions.
• A float of at least 150mm in each of its dimensions must be attached to each trap.
• The trap and trap float must be marked with the licence number and full name of the licence holder.
• A trap may have only 1 entrance. This is a one-way funnel through which the eel enters as it attempts to reach the bait.
• A cod-end or pocket is attached at the opposite end of the trap to the entrance and holds the catch until the eels can be removed. The pocket must be long enough to reach the water surface. The cod-end may also have only 1 funnel entrance from the trap itself to the pocket and must have an opening of at least 20cm in each of its dimensions.
• The tail of the cod-end must also be attached to a float or buoy of adequate size to provide a breathing space within the cod-end for any accidentally trapped air-breathing animals.
• The pocket must also have rigid frames that are no more than 1m apart and at least 20cm in each of their dimensions. The first frame must be no further than 1m from the exit of the trap into the pocket, and the last frame no more than 50cm from the end of the pocket. This reduces the likelihood that eels will be exposed to stress and anaerobic (low-oxygen) conditions when there are high catch numbers. This also lets non-target species, such as turtles, breathe at the surface and avoid drowning if they are caught in a trap.