Catch Limits & Legal Lengths

There are restrictions on fish sizes and limits throughout South Australian waters. The following are current catch limits and sizes for South Australian species. The following information has been reproduced with permission from PIRSA and as legislation changes, I urge users to check the PIRSA website for up to date information.

Personal daily bag limit
There are limits to the number of a particular fish species that can be taken by one fisher.

Daily boat limit
If three or less people are fishing from a boat, the personal bag limit applies to each person.

If three or more people are fishing from a boat the combined boat limit (that is the total number of fish that can be landed onto the boat) is generally set at three times the personal bag limit. Note: for abalone and rock lobster the combined boat limit is set at twice the personal bag limit.

For example, the daily bag limit of King George whiting for one person is 12. If only two people are fishing from a boat, 24 whiting are allowed. If there are three people on board, 36 whiting are allowed. If four or more people are fishing on board, they are only allowed a combined total of 36 whiting.

Note that different boat limits apply for charter boat fishing.

Bag and boat limits apply for a 24-hour period from midnight to midnight. Once you have caught your bag or boat limit of a particular species, you are not allowed to catch anymore of that species during that 24-hour period.

Any species that are not listed below do not have size or bag limit restrictions – but fishers are encouraged to only take what they need for personal use.

Remember that recreational fishers are not allowed to sell or trade their catch.