RECREATIONAL FISHING RULES

Fishing gear restrictions apply to fishing gear to prevent overfishing.

Using underwater breathing apparatus (other than a snorkel) to catch fish.

Using fishing gear (including nets) across a waterway or navigation channel if it makes more than half its width impassable to a boat or fish.

Make sure your crab pot/dilly is heavy enough and has enough rope attached to the float, so it’s not lost in strong tidal currents. Lost crabbing gear can harm marine animals and becomes marine litter.

It’s best practice to make sure your pots/dillies are in water deep enough at all stages of the tide so marine animals caught in the gear are not exposed to the sun and unwanted crabs can be released alive.

Sort your crabs on a pot-by-pot basis to remove any no-take crabs before moving on. If you don’t, any illegal catch in your pot is considered to be in your possession.

Check your pots/dillies regularly to ensure any bycatch or notake crabs can be released unharmed. Ideally, you should not leave gear unattended for more than 7 days. If you’re not sure when you’ll be back, take it with you.

Interfere with another person’s crabbing gear – this is a serious offence that carries heavy penalties. Stealing crabs or crab pots is a criminal offence. If you’re caught you will be reported to the police.

Maximum net size is 3.7m – measured from the point of attachment of the cord or rope to the rest of the net, the net leadline or the bottom of the lowest pocket of the net (whichever is greater). Maximum mesh size is 28mm.

You can use up to 4 crab pots or dillies (or a combination of these) per person.

You can’t have more than 4 pots or dillies per person on a boat in the water.

A pot or dilly must have a tag attached with the surname and address (number, street, town, state and postcode) of the person using the pot/dilly – this information must be clearly visible, legible and in English.

The pot or dilly must be attached by a rope to either a: solid, light-coloured float at least 15cm in all its dimensions and marked with the user’s surname. fixed object above high water (e.g., a jetty or tree) – the rope must have a tag attached to it above the high-water mark with the user’s surname on it (sunken and unmarked pots are illegal).

You can’t use inverted dillies (witches’ hats).

You can use up to 3 fishing lines with up to 6 hooks in total (in any configuration).

An artificial fly, lure, bait jig or gang hook is counted as 1 hook. A fishing line may be handheld or attached to a rod or reel, but you can’t use a cross line, drum line, free-floating line or set line. You must stay with all your fishing lines at all times.

When you bring together 91 beautiful classic boats from near and far, it can only be described as spectacular and with postcard-perfect weather in S.E. Queensland the weekend of the Bribie Island Classic Boat Regatta with brilliant blue skies, glistening water, small boats, big boats and great old wooden cruisers, a blaze of colourful flags, polished teak, the shining heads of copper nails, joy on faces, children laughing, sounds of animated discussions you’ve got something very special indeed. As the boats cruised along the Pumicestone Passage to Toorbul and Donnybrook it evoked memories of a rich maritime recreational past and truly showcased Bribie

Island and the Pumicestone Passage like no other Moreton Bay event. The regatta participants alighted all along Toorbul Foreshore to a warm welcome from the Toorbul and Donnybrook Community Association who served lunch, which was sponsored by our local Councillor Brooke Savige and Moreton Bay Regional Council.

The afternoon saw all the colourful boats once again grace the Pumicestone Passage to alight at Pacific Harbour Marina, where carparks and side roads were overflowing as large crowds gathered to view and share a tall tale or two with the delighted boat owners sharing their beautiful boats with pride and joy. All of this was accompanied by the dulcet tones of a local legend saxophone player Leigh Thirlwell, accompanied by his talented nine-year-old granddaughter Lotus, who is a star in the making and commanded the stage with her impressive singing voice.

The Grand Parade, always the regatta highlight on Sunday morning, was a magnificent spectacle enjoyed by vast crowds lined up along the foreshores, as the boats made their way to the Sylvan Beach esplanade to be displayed amidst the happy hustle and bustle of classic cars, model boat displays, pop-up stalls, food and live entertainment

The 3 independent judges had been busy during the regatta deciding on who should be the winners this year of the beautiful hand-crafted perpetual trophies.

The 'Pride of Fleet' trophy went to Cairns for a boat named ‘Iona’ owned by Tom Sparks and Rodger Fryer and lovingly built by members of the Wooden Boat Association of Cairns between 2015 and 2021. The boat was designed by John Welsford, a New Zealander. The boat design is known as a Navigator and is a centreboard yawl day cruiser -simply a beauty.

Best Classic Sailboat 2023 named ‘Mary Rose’ was won by a Brisbane boat builder Simon Paroz. It was a Clem Masters design and build in 1966 and is a timber-planked Carvel Sailing Sloop. The Best Classic Motorboat named “Moreton Maid” was also coincidentally a Clem Masters design built in 1964 and known as a Masters 31-footer.

This year for the first time we had a ‘People’s Choice Award” This trophy was initiated and sponsored by the Member for Pumicestone Ms Ali King. Voting cards were given to the public and they responded in their droves. The boat that won known as ‘Baby Dolphin” was built by the owner Geoff Tyler from Wynnum and based on a 1928 American Hacker Craft. It’s a 22-footer made from

By Cecilia

President