Charter fishing licence

You will need a charter fishing licence if you:

• run fishing trips in offshore waters
• and
• charge a fee for this service.

What this covers

Charter fishing is a trip on a boat where passengers pay to recreationally fish in Queensland waters.

For a trip to qualify as charter fishing:

• fishing equipment does not need to be supplied by the operator
• fishing activity does not need to be the main purpose of the trip.

This includes:

• spear fishing
• game fishing
• tag-and-release fishing
• demersal (bottom) reef fishing
• guided fishing
• dive charters that also take fish
• any other fishing activity in offshore waters whenever a fee for service is charged.

You must record details of your daily charter fishing activities.

Apply for a new licence

1. Complete the charter fishing licence application.
2. Pay a pro-rata amount of the relevant annual fees for the 6-month period in which you apply.
3. Finalise any outstanding fees from a previous licence of this type (e.g. it may have been cancelled for non-payment of fees).

Transfer an existing licence

You can permanently or temporarily transfer an existing licence to another person.

The application form must be signed by all of the individuals or entities that are recorded as the current holder. If a third-party interest is recorded against a licence, their permission to transfer the licence is required before the application can progress.

Make sure that the logbook returns for any catching authorities are up to date.

You may have to pay Queensland transfer duty.