Newsroom

May 8, 2025

Katter’s Australian Party Deputy Leader and Hinchinbrook MP Nick Dametto has welcomed the release of the 2025 Spanish mackerel Stock Assessment, which confirms that Queensland’s Spanish mackerel fishery is on the road to recovery.

According to the new assessment, the stock biomass of Spanish mackerel in Queensland waters is now at a median of 34 per cent of unfished levels, a major improvement from previous reports that resulted in hefty and detrimental restrictions imposed on commercial and recreational fishers.

Mr Dametto said the news would bring much relief to commercial fishers, recreational anglers, and every coastal community that has battled against years of poor policy decisions based on flawed data.

“This latest assessment directly addresses the criticisms made in an earlier independent review by Dr Simon Hoyle and Alistair Dunn in 2022. That review raised serious concerns about the limitations of the 2020 assessment.

“Despite the availability of independent evidence, for years Labor’s knee-jerk reaction to a questionable stock assessment unfairly punished hardworking Queenslanders and small businesses. It’s good to see the LNP finally fixing Labor’s errors, but now the Minister must act and right the wrongs of the past.

“We now have a far more reliable and accurate picture of Spanish mackerel stocks, which clearly shows that their numbers are not at dangerously low levels and, arguably, they never were. Armed with this new information, the Queensland Government must respond accordingly by immediately reviewing the catch limits for Spanish mackerel on the east coast.”