Fishery Map
Map showing the area of the Torres Strait Tropical Rock Lobster Fishery (2006)
On 7 March 2024, Senator the Hon. Murray Watt determined an increase to the total allowable catch (TAC) of tropical rock lobster (TRL) in the Australian waters of the TRL Fishery from 200 tonnes to 357.75 tonnes for the 2023–24 fishing season (Torres Strait Fisheries Tropical Rock Lobster (Total Allowable Catch) Amendment Determination 2024). In line with the increased TAC, the kilogram value of each quota unit and available catch for each TRL fishery sector is outlined below.
| TRL Fishery Sector | TAC (kilograms) | Number of quota units | Value of each quota unit | Available catch (kilograms) |
| Traditional Inhabitant Boat (TIB) licence holders | 357,750 | 662,016* | 0.357751 | 236,836.935 |
| Transferable Vessel Holder (TVH) licence holders | 3347,981 | 120,913.065 |
* Held in trust by the TSRA
Australia-PNG catch sharing arrangements
This TAC increase is consistent with catch sharing arrangements between Australia and Papua New Guinea (PNG) recently agreed under the Torres Strait Treaty. The arrangements comprise agreement on a global TAC of 530 tonnes and an apportionment of catch between jurisdictions. In accordance with the Treaty, PNG have nominated two boats to access PNG’s catch entitlement of TRL (92.75 tonnes) in areas of Australian jurisdiction of the Torres Strait Protected Zone under what is referred to as ‘cross-endorsement’ arrangements.
Further details regarding the revised TAC are provided in a letter to all TRL licence holders issued on 13 March 2024.
On 10 November 2023, Senator the Hon. Murray Watt, Commonwealth Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry determined a total allowable catch (TAC) of 200,000 kilograms of tropical rock lobster (TRL) in the Australian waters of the TRL Fishery for the 2023-24 fishing season to apply for the fishing season commencing on 1 December 2023. It is expected that the TAC will be increased once the outcomes of the scientific assessment processes and the catch sharing arrangements under the Torres Strait Treaty between Australia and Papua New Guinea (PNG) have been considered. Any increase in the TAC is expected to be determined by the end of February 2024.
Under this TAC, the value of each quota unit and available catch for each TRL Fishery sector is outlined in the table below. All weights are provided in unprocessed weight in kilograms.
| TRL Fishery Sector | TAC (kilograms) | Number of quota units | Value of each quota unit (kilograms) | Available catch (kilograms) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Inhabitant Boat (TIB) licence holders | 200,000 | 662,016* | 0.20000 | 132,403.597 |
| Transferable Vessel Holder (TVH) licence holders | 200,000 | 337,981 | 0.20000 | 67,596.403 |
* Held by the Torres Strait Regional Authority (TSRA)
Further details regarding the start of season TAC and other management updates are provided in a letter to all TRL licence holders issued on 15 November 2023.
Moontide hookah closures
Periodic closure to the use of hookah gear for three days either side of the full or new moon each month will be implemented during the 2023–24 fishing season. The first scheduled moontide hookah closure starts on 7 February 2024.
Download a copy of the Tropical Rock Lobster Fishery Moontide Hookah Closure Calendar for 2023–24.
For more information on the fishery rules in the TRL fishery, download a copy of the TRL Management Arrangements Booklet for 2023–24.
Download the management arrangements booklet for the TRL fishery for details of the 2023–24 management arrangements.
Updated 27 February 2024.
The Torres Strait Tropical Rock Lobster (TRL) Fishery operates under a quota management system. To fish in the TRL Fishery, a transferrable vessel holder (TVH) operator must hold both a fishing licence and unused quota. For a traditional inhabitant boat (TIB) operator, the person must hold a fishing licence and either be fishing unused quota held by the Torres Strait Regional Authority (TSRA) for the benefit of the TIB sector or individually hold unused quota. TIB operators will be notified when the unused quota held for the benefit of the TIB sector has been exhausted. The value of a quota unit is determined each fishing season. Units that are not used in the current season do not accumulate for use in another season.
Transfer of TRL Quota Units
Quota units can be permanently transferred, except by the TSRA, by lodging an Application to Register a Permanent Transfer of Tropical Rock Lobster Quota Units (PDF).
Unused quota units can be temporarily transferred lodging an Application to Register a Temporary Transfer of Unused Tropical Rock Lobster Quota Units (PDF). This transaction does not change the ownership of the quota units, and the temporary transfer only has effect during the fishing season it is registered in.
15 October 2019
On 16 September 2019, Senator the Hon Jonathon Duniam, Assistant Minister for Forestry and Fisheries, allocated quota units in the Torres Strait Tropical Rock Lobster Fishery (TRL Fishery) in accordance with the Torres Strait Fisheries (Quotas for Tropical Rock Lobster (Kaiar)) Management Plan 2018. Further details regarding the allocation are provided below.
- Read the letter to all TRL Fishery licence holders issued on 15 October 2019 (PDF)
- Download the Torres Strait Fisheries (Quotas for Tropical Rock Lobster (Kaiar)) Management Plan 2018
- Download the Explanatory Statement for the Torres Strait Fisheries (Quotas for Tropical Rock Lobster (Kaiar)) Management Plan 2018
- Read the Guide to the Torres Strait Fisheries (Quotas for Tropical Rock Lobster (Kaiar)) Management Plan 2018 (PDF)
Should you wish to learn more about quota management systems, an introductory video can be accessed here
*Published by the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries on 2 June 2019.
The TRL Harvest Strategy was agreed to in 2019. Consultation included consideration by the PZJA, a round of community visits undertaken by AFMA across the Torres Strait and Northern Peninsular Area, a public comment period, and consideration by the PZJA Tropical Rock Lobster Resource Assessment Group (TRLRAG) and TRL Working Group (TRLWG).
A copy of the final harvest strategy together with frequently asked questions about harvest strategies and an overview of the TRL harvest strategy are below.
27 November 2018
The Protected Zone Joint Authority (PZJA) has considered the views of stakeholders and agreed to implement a Tropical Rock Lobster (TRL) Fishery Management Plan, from 1 December 2018, to coincide with the commencement of the Torres Strait Fisheries Amendment (Tropical Rock Lobster) Management Instrument 2018.
For the 2018–19 fishing season (starting 1 December 2018) separate Traditional and non-traditional shares of the total allowable catch (TAC) will be implemented.
- Read the Communiqué – Protected Zone Joint Authority, meeting 28.
- Read the Media Release from the Protected Zone Joint Authority - Delivering the Torres Strait Tropical Rock Lobster Fishery Management Plan
- Download the Torres Strait Fisheries (Quotas for Tropical Rock Lobster (Kaiar)) Management Plan 2018 (PDF)
- Download the Explanatory Statement for the Torres Strait Fisheries (Quotas for Tropical Rock Lobster (Kaiar)) Management Plan 2018 (PDF)
- Download the Torres Strait Fisheries Amendment (Tropical Rock Lobster) Management Instrument 2018 (PDF)
- Download the Explanatory Statement for the Torres Strait Fisheries Amendment (Tropical Rock Lobster) Management Instrument 2018 (PDF)
The management objectives for the Tropical Rock Lobster Fishery are:
- to maintain the fishing mortality at a level below that which produces the Maximum Sustainable Yield (F MSY) (accounting for all sources of fishing mortality)
- to protect the traditional way of life and livelihood of Traditional Inhabitants, in particular in relation to their traditional fishing for Tropical Rock Lobster in accordance with the Torres Strait Treaty
- to provide for the optimal utilisation, co-operative management with Queensland and PNG and for catch sharing to occur with PNG
- to monitor interactions between the prawn and lobster fisheries
- to maintain appropriate controls on fishing gear allowed in the fishery to minimise impacts on the environment
- to promote economic development in the Torres Strait area with an emphasis on providing the framework for commercial opportunities for Traditional Inhabitants and to ensure that the opportunities available to all stakeholders are socially and culturally appropriate for the Torres Strait and the wider Queensland and Australian community, and
- optimise the value of the fishery.
Growth in the Torres Strait TRL Fishery is limited to Traditional Inhabitants of the Torres Strait so as to maximise their economic development and employment opportunities.
In support of this, the PZJA has introduced licensing restrictions that prevent growth within the non-Islander sector, both in terms of fishing capacity (boat replacement policy) and the containment of licence numbers.
There is also a ban on trawlers taking lobster to prevent pressure on the lobster resource from the prawn trawling fleet.
Most of the management arrangements are outlined in Fisheries Management Notice No. 80 and include size restrictions, closed seasons, gear restrictions and bag limits. These are detailed below.
Regulations currently implemented in the Torres Strait TRL Fishery include:
- fishing method is restricted to hand collection or with the use of a hand held implement, such as a spear or scoop net
- a complete seasonal commercial fishing closure during October and November (inclusive)
- a further seasonal closure on the use of hookah gear during December and January (inclusive)
- a minimum tail size of 115 mm or minimum carapace length of 90 mm for all commercially caught lobsters, and
- a prohibition to process or carry tropical rock lobster meat that has been removed from any part of a tropical rock lobster on any boat.
Stock assessment modelling indicates that the population of TRL naturally fluctuates from year to year however the stocks within the Torres Strait Protected Zone are currently not considered to be overfished.
Since 2006, a preliminary Total Allowable Catch (TAC) has been estimated to gauge the performance of the fishery and actual catch has not exceeded the preliminary TAC.
As at 30 June 2010, 289 Traditional Inhabitant boat licenses with TRL entries were active in the fishery and 13 non-Traditional Inhabitants licensed to fish in the fishery. Six PNG cross-endorsements were also issued to PNG commercial fishers to fish in the TRL Fishery during 2010.
Quota units can be permanently transferred, except by the TSRA, by lodging an Application to Register a Permanent Transfer of Tropical Rock Lobster Quota Units (PDF).
Unused quota units can be temporarily transferred lodging an Application to Register a Temporary Transfer of Unused Tropical Rock Lobster Quota Units (PDF).
The Torres Strait Tropical Rock Lobster Fishery was strategically assessed by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 in 2023. The fishery was added to the List of Exempt Native Specimens (LENS) (i.e. received export approval) for a period of 10 years (until 4 December 2033), at which time the fishery will be re-assessed. Further information can be found on the DCCEEW website.