Recreational Fishing

Bag and size limits - saltwater

Bag limit is the maximum number of fish per person in possession. A maximum daily bag limit of 20 applies to any fish or invertebrate not included in the tables below. Protected and threatened species cannot be taken.

* Bag limit comprised of any single species or a combination of listed grouped species.

Finfish Bag and Size limits

Species		Size limits or legal length (cm)	Bag limit
Australian bass & estuary perch	Australian bass Closed season in rivers and estuaries June - August incl.	Only 1 over 35cm	2 in total *, 4 in possesion
Australian bass & estuary perch	Estuary perch Closed season in rivers and estuaries June - August incl.	Only 1 over 35cm	2 in total *, 4 in possesion
Australian salmon	Australian salmon	-	5
Bluefish	Bluefish	-	0 - release only Lord Howe Marine Park 5
Bonito	Bonito	-	10
Bream & tarwhine	Bream (Black/southern)	25 cm	20 in total *
	Bream (Yellowfin)	25 cm
	Tarwhine	20 cm
Deep-sea fish	Hapuka	-	5 in total *, gemfish: only 2 and boat trip limit of 10
	Bar Cod	-
	Bass groper	-
	Gemfish	-
	Blue-eye cod	-
Dolphinfish	Dolphinfish	60 cm, only 1 over 110 cm	10
Eels	Eels (Short and longfinned)	(Shortfinned) 30cm (Longfinned) 58cm	(Shortfinned) 10 (Longfinned) 10
Flathead	Flathead (Dusky/common)	36cm, only 1 over 70cm	10
	Flathead (Sand)	33 cm	20 in total *
	Flathead (Tiger)	33 cm	20 in total *
Flounder & sole	Flounders and Soles	25cm	20 in total *
Garfish	Garfish (eastern sea)	-	20
Groper	Groper (blue, brown, red)	30cm, only 1 over 60cm	2 in total *, by line only
Hairtail	Hairtail	-	10
Kingfish, yellowtail	Kingfish, yellowtail	65 cm	5
Leatherjackets	Leatherjackets	-	20 in total *
Luderick	Luderick	27 cm	20
Mackerel	Mackerel (Spanish)	(Spanish) 75cm	5 in total *
Mackerel	Mackerel (Spotted)	(Spotted) 60cm	5 in total *
Mangrove Jack	Mangrove Jack	-	5
Marlin	Marlin (Striped)	-	1 of each species
	Marlin (Black)
	Marlin (Blue)
Morwong	Morwong (Rubberlip)	30cm	10
	Morwong (Jackass)	30cm	10
	Morwong (Red/sea carp)	30cm	5
	Morwong (Banded)	-	5
Moses perch	Moses perch	-	5
Mullet	Mullet	Small (poddy) Under 15 cm	20 in total * for live bait only
Mullet	Mullet	Sea (bully) only 30 cm	20 in total *
Mulloway	Mulloway	45 cm only 2 fish over 70 cm	5
Pearl perch	Pearl perch	30 cm	5
Red rock cod	Red rock cod (Scorpionfish)	-	5
Rock blackfish	Rock blackfish	30 cm	10
Sailfish	Sailfish	-	1
Samson & Amberjack	Samsonfish Amberjack	-	5 in total *
Sawtail surgeon	Sawtail surgeon	-	5
Sharks and rays	Shark (Wobbegong)	-	0 for wobbegong (release only).
	Shark (Mako)	-	5 in total *, only 1 tiger, mako, blue shark, hammerhead or other whaler species.
	Shark (School)	91 cm
	Shark (Whaler)	-
Snapper	Snapper	30 cm	10
Spearfish	Spearfish	-	1
Swordfish	Swordfish	-	1
Tailor	Tailor	30 cm	20
Teraglin	Teraglin	38 cm	5
Trevallies	Trevallies	(silver trevally only) 30 cm	20 in total *
Tuna	Tuna (Albacore)	90 cm or above Less than 90 cm	2 in total * 5 in total *
	Tuna (Big-eye)
	Tuna (Longtail)
	Tuna (Southern bluefin)
	Tuna (Yellowfin)
Wahoo	Wahoo	-	5
Whiting	Whiting	(sand only) 27 cm	20 in total *

* Bag limit comprised of any single species or a combination of listed grouped species.

Invertebrates Bag and Size limits

Species	Size limits or legal length (cm)	Bag limit
Abalone No taking of abalone between Port Stephens and Jervis Bay due to Perkinsus olsensi outbreak. See closure notice.	11.7 cm	2
Balmain bug +	10 cm	20
Beach worms	-	20 whole or part in total *
All other worms	-	100 in total *
Cockles, mussels and pipis Pipis for bait only - do not take beyond 50m of high-tide mark.	-	50 in total *
Crab (Blue swimmer) +	6 cm	20
Crab (Mud / black +	8.5 cm	5
Crab (Spanner) +	9.3 cm	10
Crab (Soldier) +	-	100 in total *
All other crabs +	-	10 in total *
Cunjevoi	-	20 in total *
Lobster (Eastern rock) +	Min. 10.4cm, none over 18cm	2 in total in any combination
Lobster (Southern rock) (male) + Lobster (Southern rock) (female) +	11 cm 10.5 cm	2 in total in any combination
Lobster (Painted, ornate) +	-	2 in total *
Lobster (Slipper, flat) +	-	2
Octopus	-	10 in total *
Oysters (Sydney rock, Pacific, flat)	-	50 in total *
Prawns	-	10 litres in total *
Saltwater Pink Nippers	-	100 in total *
Scallops	-	50 in total *
Sea urchins	-	10 in total *
Squid & Cuttlefish	-	20 in total *
Turban snails	(Sydney, military) 7.5 cm (All other molluscs) -	20 in total* 20 in total* including turban shells

* Bag limit comprised of any single species or a combination of listed grouped species.

+ All lobsters, crabs, bugs and crayfish carrying eggs must be returned to the water.

Baitfish bag limits (excluding charter boat operators)

Species	Bag limit
Australian anchovy Maray (or Round Herring) Southern Herring Pilchard Slimy Mackerel Blue Sprat (or Blue bait) Sandy Sprat (or Whitebait)	A bag limit of 50 for each species.
Garfish (other than Eastern Sea Garfish) Jack Mackerel and Yellowtail Hardyhead and Silverfish	A bag limit of 50 comprised of any single species or a combination of species.

Species

Bag limit

Australian anchovy

Maray (or Round Herring)

Southern Herring

Pilchard

Slimy Mackerel

Blue Sprat (or Blue bait)

Sandy Sprat (or Whitebait)

A bag limit of 50 for each species.

Garfish (other than Eastern Sea Garfish)

Jack Mackerel and Yellowtail

Hardyhead and Silverfish

A bag limit of 50 comprised of any single species or a combination of species.

Recreational Fishing

Bag and size limits - saltwater

Finfish Bag and Size limits

Australian bass & estuary perch

Australian salmon

Bluefish

Bonito

Bream & tarwhine

Deep-sea fish

Dolphinfish

Eels

Flathead

Flounder & sole

Garfish

Groper

Hairtail

Kingfish, yellowtail

Leatherjackets

Luderick

Mackerel

Mangrove Jack

Marlin

Morwong

Moses perch

Mullet

Mulloway

Pearl perch

Red rock cod

Rock blackfish

Sailfish

Samson & Amberjack

Sawtail surgeon

Sharks and rays

Snapper

Spearfish

Swordfish

Tailor

Teraglin

Trevallies

Tuna

Wahoo

Whiting

Invertebrates Bag and Size limits

Baitfish bag limits (excluding charter boat operators)