Fury Over 1.6-Kilometre Fishing Nets Trialled Near Great Barrier Reef

Recreational anglers are calling for an end to the trial of 1.6-kilometre-long fishing nets in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage area.

The Queensland government is trialling 1.6 kilometre-long fishing nets on coastal flats near the Great Barrier Reef to replace gillnet fishing, which will be banned from June 2027.

Tunnel nets were trialled in Bowen, the Whitsundays and Gladstone in July 2025 and are a proposed alternative to controversial gillnet fishing.

'We're talking about a 1.6-kilometre-long net that indiscriminately captures every fish of any species within that area,' said Chris Burgess, who has fished the waters off Bowen for five years and is leading community opposition.

Tunnel nets are comprised of two 800-metre-wide mesh walls that are staked to the ocean floor. They draw fish to a central trap that has a gate to keep out larger species such as dugongs and turtles.

Researchers sort fish from the holding area of a tunnel net in Bowen.

Target species such as barramundi or king threadfin made up just 3 per cent of the catch.

About 25 per cent of the fish caught in a trial were found to be dead, Mr Burgess said.

Este Darin-Cooper says key game species such as trevally have been found in the nets.

Primary Industries Minister Tony Perrett said the trial was part of a wider effort to improve the sustainability of the commercial fishing sector.

The trial caught and released 30,000 fish in 17 days between July and September last year, according to operators Fish-LIGHT.

Matt Calder, the owner of several seafood markets, said finding a sustainable way to catch species such as barramundi was the key to the survival of the fishery.

Queensland fish is sold interstate.

James Cook University marine scientist Andrew Chin has researched tunnel net methods in Cardwell, near Townsville.

He said the trials showed the nets were a 'cleaner, greener' option.

Dr Chin said future fisheries should modify the size of the gates to allow more target species like barramundi into the trap area.

Clinton Isaac, a recreational fishing business operator in Cardwell and Bowen, said a future tunnel net fishery would be a 'reputational risk' to north Queensland.