Closed Season for Fishing during cod breeding season

CLOSED SEASON FOR FISHING IN THE MARY AND TRIBUTARIES.

Australia has a National Go Fishing Day, England has a National Eat Fish and Chips Day and maybe the Mary needs a “Do it for the Cod” Day. Mary River cod that is, but maybe it needs more than a day to steer them back from the brink.

How about a three-month period, which coincides with when they’re embarked on breeding?

With a population estimated few years back to be as low as 600 individuals living in the wild, ensuring successful reproduction is the key to long-term survival. That population estimate pre-dated the arrival of Tilapia in the system following the floods of 2011 and 2013, yet another challenge for cod survival.

For those who go fishing, the Mary River cod has long been declared a “no take” species with hefty fines attached. But neither that, nor the rule that they should not be “targeted” guarantees successful breeding. Male cod tending and defending eggs in the past have been “accidentally” caught. And though they are ultimately released, the time taken for that “obligatory” brag pic meant that many of the undefended eggs will have been eaten by predators moving in for a feast.

Of course Mary River cod don’t begin their breeding on a set, reliable date, it is triggered by rising water temperature coming out of winter and lies somewhere in the August, September, October window.

That’s why, in the main cod breeding area of the Mary and tributaries, there’s a three month CLOSED SEASON for ALL fishing. The area covered is the river itself and all tributaries UPSTREAM (to the south) of Gympie and covers all of August, September and October.

The Closed Season has been in place for a number of years now. Fisheries officers have issued fines in the past and will be on patrol again this year. Anyone observing people fishing during the closed season should report it on the Fisheries Hotline.