SA snapper ban could ease from July, subject to stock tests
The rebuilding plan would introduce catch quotas and reporting rules, while fishers have questioned sampling and future management.
South Australia could begin reopening closed snapper fisheries from July 2027, provided summer assessments confirm biomass above 20 per cent and sufficient numbers of younger fish entering the population.
Research by the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI) indicates stocks have recovered beyond 20 per cent across the West Coast, Spencer Gulf and Gulf St Vincent. SARDI professor Mike Steer said the benchmark was based on an estimate of the population before fishing.
The closures began in 2019 after stocks fell to critical levels. They were extended by 12 months rather than ending in 2026 because the effects of a harmful algal bloom remained unknown.
The Department of Primary Industries and Regions (PIRSA) has developed a rebuilding plan that includes quotas and compulsory catch reporting. Commercial operators and charters would report everything caught; recreational fishers would report retained fish but not discards.
Charter operator Ryan Valente, who fishes from Pondalowie Bay and Marion Bay, questioned whether sampling adequately covered his operating area. He said snapper were abundant there. Commercial fisher Hugh Bayly said earlier management failures had contributed to the closure and could recur.
The government is also considering an independent panel's final assessment of possible licence buybacks for marine scale fishers who would normally have access to snapper.
Primary Industries Minister Clare Scriven said no structural adjustment decision had been made. She said PIRSA would maintain monitoring and enforcement to support catch reporting, as it already does in the South East, where snapper fishing remains open.
