Voluntary Code of Practice

a man releasing a fish back in to the water
Rockhampton is dedicated to a keeping our river stocked.

net free zone

All commercial nets came out of the Fitzroy River (Tunuba), for the last time at the end of the 2015 Barramundi season. That year, just over 200 tons of fish (all species) were taken out of the river by commercial harvesters.

With this volume of fish no longer being removed, and remaining stocks allowed to breed and grow, the population of legal-sized fish has risen substantially and dramatically since the closure. The number of trophy Barra over the magic metre in length continues to grow each season, and with most of these wonderful sport fish released to fight and breed again, the overall picture is only improving with the passage of time.

Rockhampton Regional Council has endorsed the Rockhampton Recreational Fishing Voluntary Code of Practice - the first Council in Australia to do so. This code sets out the values that Rockhampton as a community wants to see local and visiting fishers exhibiting whilst fishing in our regional waters. The code is voluntary and the values are in detail in the downloadable fact sheet. Council strongly encourages everyone to read the values and sign up to the voluntary code of practice.

Sign up to the VCOP