I was in a large Asian grocery on Grote St last week and saw live abalone and live Murray Cod for sale.The abalone didn't appear to be of legal size (14cm, from memory) and Murray Cod were, I thought, totally protected in SA.
Is it legal to bring in abalone from other states, of smaller size than we are allowed to harvest here?
Can one, similarly, import Murray Cod from other jurisdictions?
I'd be grateful for a response from PIRSA.

pancing wrote:



Some very good and interesting points there pancing ! Your best first response may have been to ring Fishwatch at the time, and if there was an issue they would have jumped on it

While its impossible to be accurate without a measuring device handy, the apparent below-legal-size-limit of some fish for sale in local markets has to make you wonder sometimes

Assumedly its legal to import fish from interstate that wouldnt be of a legal size to be sold here if they were caught locally.

I hope this makes sense

I'd say a similar thing would be happening with the Cod you saw too

Either way, it just doesnt seem "right" to me

Murray Cod are sold here as fingerlings in the aquarium trade so that doesn't seem to be illegal. I'd presume the fish you saw may fall under the same rules.
Cheers Darren

fishnuts wrote:


Another interesting point darren.

If you wanted a feed of Cod, you could buy up a heap of fingerlings

Plenty of people growing cod legally under aquaculture licences here in sa and vic that I know of

Not sure about the abalone - presume thats the same

As a chef, I often bought frozen undersize abalone from a major seafood supplier who is often on T.V. and they were farmed out west so were outside of the law of legal size, maybe they came live from a farm.

pancing wrote:


Hi guys,

There are a few fish processors in Adelaide (including one on Grote Street which is probably the one visited) that sell abalone (alive, frozen, dried etc) that are not of the legal minimum weight or length. These abalone are usually sourced from Aquaculture farms within the State and occasionally from abalone Aquaculture farms from interstate. The size limit applies to South Australian wildstock only. Fisheries Officers are able to differentiate between wild caught abalone and Aquaculture bred stock. Fish Processors are also required to maintain written records of where stock has been purchased.

The situation is similar with Murray Cod. Whilst Murray Cod wildstock are prohibited from being taken from the River Murray in this State, this is not the case interstate. However, Murray Cod are not able to be fished commercially interstate. Fish that have been sourced from Aquaculture farms, irrespective of the State sourced from, are able to be sold here. Again, written records of where the fish have been sourced from are required to be maintained by the fish processor.

It is legal for fish, irrespective of species, to be sold in this State that have been purchased interstate and are below the legal minimum length here. This is often done by fish processors in this State. It is a reason for many FISHWATCH reporting calls and follow-ups by Fisheries Officers. The Bream minimum size limit in Victoria previously was 25 cm (recently changed to 28cm) and was commonly sold in SA.

The reason this is allowed is because of the Commonwealth Mutual Recognition Act (link below)
austlii.org/au/legis/cth/consol_act/mra1992221/
Basically, if a species has been lawfully taken for sale in one State, another State cannot restrict its trade by making it unlawful to sell there. SA are the beneficiaries of this law with regards to rock lobster (our Southern Zone rock lobster size is smaller than most States) and a few other species.

Hope this helps

Randel Donovan
Regional Manager Central South

pancing wrote:


Hi guys,

There are a few fish processors in Adelaide (including one on Grote Street which is probably the one visited) that sell abalone (alive, frozen, dried etc) that are not of the legal minimum weight or length. These abalone are usually sourced from Aquaculture farms within the State and occasionally from abalone Aquaculture farms from interstate. The size limit applies to South Australian wildstock only. Fisheries Officers are able to differentiate between wild caught abalone and Aquaculture bred stock. Fish Processors are also required to maintain written records of where stock has been purchased.

The situation is similar with Murray Cod. Whilst Murray Cod wildstock are prohibited from being taken from the River Murray in this State, this is not the case interstate. However, Murray Cod are not able to be fished commercially interstate. Fish that have been sourced from Aquaculture farms, irrespective of the State sourced from, are able to be sold here. Again, written records of where the fish have been sourced from are required to be maintained by the fish processor.

It is legal for fish, irrespective of species, to be sold in this State that have been purchased interstate and are below the legal minimum length here. This is often done by fish processors in this State. It is a reason for many FISHWATCH reporting calls and follow-ups by Fisheries Officers. The Bream minimum size limit in Victoria previously was 25 cm (recently changed to 28cm) and was commonly sold in SA.

The reason this is allowed is because of the Commonwealth Mutual Recognition Act (link below)
austlii.org/au/legis/cth/consol_act/mra1992221/
Basically, if a species has been lawfully taken for sale in one State, another State cannot restrict its trade by making it unlawful to sell there. SA are the beneficiaries of this law with regards to rock lobster (our Southern Zone rock lobster size is smaller than most States) and a few other species.

Hope this helps

Randel Donovan
Regional Manager Central South