In 2013, as part of the NSW Mulloway Recovery Program, the minimum size limit for this valuable sport fish was increased to 70cm. However, commercial mesh net fishers successfully argued for a bycatch allowance, enabling them to retain up to 10 fish under the legal size to avoid unnecessary discards.
At the same time, commercial Ocean haul operators – who were previously unrestricted in the quantity of mulloway they could catch – were restricted down to a 500kg bycatch/trip limit.
This was introduced to prevent the intentional targeting of large schools, while still allowing for the retention of mulloway caught incidentally alongside other species.
In 2018, NSW DPI removed the commercial fishers a bycatch limit of 10 mulloway per day between 45 and 70 cm.
Reasoning for this was the 10 fish limit was originally introduced as a way of minimising waste on unwanted bycatch. However, research showed a significant percentage of the annual mulloway catch fell into this “undersize” category. This indicated commercial netters were deliberately targeting juvenile fish and exploiting the bycatch rule for estuary mesh nets. As a result, the Minister for Fisheries at the time, Niall Blair, closed this loophole.
While this was a big win for mulloway, it didn’t change the fact that the original reasoning for bycatch of undersize mulloway in the estuary mesh nets was legitimate and with no requirement to record undersize discards. It’s now impossible to know how many juvenile fish are still being lost.
Commercial ocean haulers also found a way to exploit their own trip limits that were put in place in 2013, as the 500 kg limit applies per ocean haul fishery endorsement holder.
So if a crew has multiple ocean haul endorsement holders they can multiply there trip limit, rendering it ineffective.
This has led to entire schools of large mulloway being able to be taken in one swoop and has caused repeated controversy since its introduction.
It’s a bitter pill to swallow for recreational anglers who have been told the species is depleted for the past two decades, and as a result, had the bag limit reduced to just one fish per person, per day, because of this
The latest commercial changes in 2023 saw a 200kg trip limit put in place for all sectors, including ocean hauling, which decreased the 500kg limit to 200kg. However, as you can see from this latest mega haul (pictured above) from from the Port Stephens area of reportedly around 100 fish at over one tonne, commercial fishers can simply find enough crew with endorsements to cover the catch and get around the 200kg limit.
On top of that, with no live catch reporting of these fish, traceability and ever knowing how many really were caught becomes a nightmare for compliance to follow up… unless they happen to be there.
Not only has this bycatch/trip limit been exploited from its original intent in 2013, modern technology has changed the game and advanced the ocean haul fishery with crews now using drones to easily locate and specifically target large schools of mulloway.
It’s about time NSW Fisheries Minister Tara Moriarty recognises the value mulloway have as a recreational species and amends this commercial loophole and exploitation of mulloway stocks in NSW.
