{"id":46438,"date":"2026-07-08T07:00:24","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T07:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/46438\/"},"modified":"2026-07-08T07:00:24","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T07:00:24","slug":"four-fined-after-allegedly-illegally-fishing-in-green-zone-during-queensland-competition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/46438\/","title":{"rendered":"Four fined after allegedly illegally fishing in green zone during Queensland competition"},"content":{"rendered":"

Authorities have fined four people in a fishing competition after they were caught allegedly taking fish from a protected area.<\/p>\n

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority said the group was caught fishing illegally in a no-take zone in the southern Capricorn Bunker Group during a competition late last week.<\/p>\n

Compliance officer Owen Witt said the group was intercepted during a targeted night patrol off Bundaberg.<\/p>\n

“This wasn’t just illegal fishing. It was a blatant attempt to cheat fellow competitors out of prizes,” Mr Witt said.<\/p>\n

“No prize is worth poaching for.”<\/p>\n

He said the group was fined roughly $14,500 and could face legal prosecution.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

An esky of redthroat emperor, allegedly poached from a green zone this year. (Supplied: Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority)<\/p>\n

“There is no excuse \u2026 if you’re entering a fishing competition, you should be checking zoning before you leave the boat ramp,” Mr Witt said.<\/p>\n

He alleged the catch was intentional, as the group were about 10 nautical miles inside the green zone at 10pm.<\/p>\n

“[They were] defiant \u2026 just trying to back-pedal,” he said.<\/p>\n

“They were fishing for reef fish that you catch at night \u2026 that you can enter into a fishing comp.<\/p>\n

“Like grass sweetlip, redthroat emperor, red emperor, large-mouth Nannygai, all those sorts of demersal species that are vital to reef health too.”<\/p>\n

As the matter was still under investigation, Mr Witt said the authority could not release any identifying details for the four people.<\/p>\n

He said it was not clear if the group were taking part in a fishing competition in Bundaberg or Hervey Bay, and that would form part of the investigation, as well as body-worn camera footage from officers.<\/p>\n

Top prizes for both competitions ranged from two nights accommodation on an island, to $1,000 cash and equipment worth up to $2,000.<\/p>\n

“We know that green zones do hold bigger fish, so there is a want to go there by a limited number of people.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Owen Witt\u00a0says most fishers do the right thing. (ABC Capricornia: Jasmine Hines)<\/p>\n

What are the rules?<\/p>\n

Marine national park zones or “green zones” are protected areas of the ocean where fishing, including crabbing, spearfishing, and trolling, is strictly forbidden.<\/p>\n

The penalty for fishing or collecting in these zones increased on July 1 this year, with the fine now $3,640.<\/p>\n

However, the authority said fishers could travel through a green zone with caught fish on board \u2014 if the catch was taken outside the zone and all fishing gear was stowed out of the water.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The reef authority says fishers should check zones using apps, online maps or GPS before heading out on the water. (Supplied: Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority)<\/p>\n

Mr Witt said about two-thirds of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park remained open to some form of fishing.<\/p>\n

But he said the Capricorn Bunker Group was one of the most important climate refuges on the southern Great Barrier Reef.<\/p>\n

“Taking fish from a no-take zone shows a complete disregard for the rules, the reef and the fishing community,” he said.<\/p>\n

Officers had increased their attention recently after using helicopters to catch a “few” boats fishing in the area during the day.<\/p>\n

“[But] they’re evading us, they’re cutting their lines and leaving,” Mr Witt said.<\/p>\n

He said the alleged illegal activity often depended on weather conditions, which were “magic” late last week during the school holidays.<\/p>\n

The reef authority recommends fishers check zoning using the available and free mobile apps, zoning maps, or compatible GPS and chart plotter zoning layers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Authorities have fined four people in a fishing competition after they were caught allegedly taking fish from a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":46439,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[22,21,34721,2667,34718,8635,13712,34719,28791,23529,34720],"class_list":["post-46438","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-austrlia","tag-capricorn-bunker-group","tag-caught","tag-comp","tag-competition","tag-compliance","tag-fishers","tag-fishing","tag-great-barrier-reef-marine-park-authority","tag-grmpa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46438","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46438"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46438\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46439"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46438"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46438"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46438"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}