Salt Water Bag and Size Limits - Fish and Invertebrate

Not all fish species are subject to a legal length. There are five bag limit categories – zero, two, five, 10 or 20 fish per angler.

A maximum daily bag limit of 20 applies to any fish or invertebrate not included in the tables below, except baitfish*.

Baitfish Bag Limits
A bag limit of 50 applies to each of the following baitfish:

Australian anchovy, Maray (or round herring), Southern herring, Pilchard, Slimy mackerel, Blue sprat (or bluebait), Sandy sprat (or whitebait)

A bag limit of 50 comprised of any single species or combination of species applies to the following baitfish:

Garfish (other than eastern sea garfish), Jack mackerel and yellowtail, Hardyhead and silverfish

# the above baitfish bag limits do not apply to charter boat operators.

Legal length - is the minimum unless otherwise stated.
Bag limit - is the maximum number per person in possession.

Please note that the information may change and the latest information can be viewed at: www.fisheries.nsw.gov.au

Picture	Fish	Legal Length	Bag Limit
	Australian Bass and Estuary Perch	Only 1 fish longer than 35cm	4 in total (max.2 per day) Zero bag limit in rivers and estuaries from 1 June to 31 August each year.
	Australian Salmon	-	5
	Bonito	-	10
	Bream (black/southern, yellowfin)	25cm	20 in total
	Dolphinfish (mahi-mahi)	60cm	10 Only 1 fish over 110cm
	Eel long finned	58cm	10 in total
	Flathead, dusky/common	36cm (only 1 fish longer than 70cm)	10
	Flathead (sand, tiger)	33cm	20 in total
-	Flathead, all other	33cm	20 in total
	Deep-sea fish (hapuka, bar cod, bass groper, gemfish, blue-eye cod	-	5 in total (max. of 2 gemfish)
	Flounder and Sole	25cm	20 in total
	Garfish (Eastern Sea)	-	20
	Groper (blue, red/brown)	30cm	2 by line only Only 1 fish over 60cm
	Hairtail	-	10
	Kingfish, yellowtail	65cm	5
	Leatherjackets	-	20 in total
	Luderick (Blackfish)	27cm	20
	Mackeral Spanish	75cm	5 in total
	Mackerel Spotted	60cm	5 in total
	Mangrove Jack	-	5
	Marlin (striped, black, blue)	-	1 of each species
	Morwong (grey, jackass, rubberlip)	30cm	10
	Morwong (red/ sea carp)	30cm	5
-	Morwong, banded	-	5
-	Moses perch	-	5
	Mullet (sea/bully)	30cm	20
-	Mullet, poddy (for live bait)	less than 15cm	20
	Mulloway (or jewfish)	45cm (only 2 fish longer than 70cm)	5
	Pearl Perch	30cm	5
	Red Rock Cod	-	5
-	Rock blackfish	30cm	10
	Sailfish	-	1
	Samsonfish and Amberjack	-	5 in total
	Sharks and rays	91cm (School shark only)	5 in total * Only 1 tiger, mako, blue, hammerhead and whaler shark species. Zero bag limit applies to wobbegong.
	Snapper	30cm	10
	Spearfish	-	1
	Surgeon, sawtail	-	5
	Swordfish	-	1
	Tailor	30cm	20
	Tarwhine	20cm	20
	Teraglin	38cm	5
	Trevallies	30cm for silver trevally only	20 in total
	Tuna (albacore, big-eye, longtail, southern bluefin, yellowfin)	90cm and above	2 in total
	Tuna (albacore, big-eye, longtail, southern bluefin, yellowfin)	less than 90cm	5 in total
	Wahoo	-	5
	Whiting	27cm (sand only)	20 in total
* Illustration by Roger Swainston. From the book Sea Fishes of Southern Australia by Barry Hutchins and Roger Swainston.
Picture	Invertebrate	Legal length	Bag Limit
	Abalone	11.5cm	10
	Beach worms	-	20
-	Cockles, mussels (pipis for bait only – do not take beyond 50m of high-tide mark)	-	50
	Crab, blue swimmer	6cm	20
	Crab (mud, black/mangrove)	8.5cm	5
	Crab, spanner	9.3cm	10
-	Crab (all other, except soldier)	-	10 in total
	Cunjevoi	-	20
	Lobster, eastern rock	min10.4cm max 20cm	2 in total
-	Lobster, southern rock (male)	min11.4cm max 20cm	2 in total
-	Lobster, southern rock (female)	min10.5cm max 20cm	2 in total
-	Lobster (painted, ornate)	-	2 in total
-	Lobster (slipper, flat)	-	2 in total
	Oysters (Sydney rock, Pacific, flat)	-	50 in total
	Prawns	-	10 litres
	Scallops	-	50
	Sea urchins	-	10
	Turban snails (Sydney, military)	7.5cm	20