September 24, 2025
At the start of September, the Victorian Fisheries Authority (VFA) released a proposal to reduce the bag limit of yellowtail kingfish from 5 to 2 per person per day.
The proposal was put forward as recreational fishers raised concerns that current recreational fishing regulations for the species are considered outdated, particularly the 5 fish per person per day bag limit, seen as beyond a reasonable day’s harvest for valued fish of such a large size.
The Victorian Fisheries Authority have reviewed bag and size limits for the species as well as scientific research and neighbouring jurisdictions management, and have put forward a proposal to reduce the bag limit from 5 to 2 kingfish per person per day. They expect the proposed changes to:
- Better reflect recreational fisher views of a reasonable day’s harvest
- Better share the catch amongst more fishers
- Reduce local depletion of the species during peak fishing periods
- Potentially improve the fishery quality through better sized fish
- Align with the bag limit of other offshore species such as gummy and school shark
As the peak body for recreational fishing, VRFish consulted with Victorian recreational fishers via an online survey to identify if recreational fishers support the proposal to reduce the Victorian recreational fishing bag limit for kingfish.
The survey was open for a two-week period and recreational fishers were asked to answer five questions including if they support the proposed reduction to the bag limit for yellowtail kingfish by the Victorian Fisheries Authority.
A total of 1,023 respondents participated in the survey. VRFish distributed the survey via our website, social media, and an email invitation sent to VRFish members and subscribers including our database of recreational fishing licence holders.
Of the survey respondents, 85% recreationally fish for yellowtail kingfish and most commonly target kingfish between 2 to 5 days per year (25%).
When it comes to the proposal to reduce the daily bag limit of yellowtail kingfish from 5 to 2 per person, we found that majority of recreational fishers (72%) are supportive of the proposal. When analysing the data further, we found that those who identified as kingfish fishers in Q1 were supportive of the proposal (69%).
The feedback from the survey will be used to form a VRFish submission to the Victorian Fisheries Authority’s proposal to reduce the daily bag limit for Yellowtail Kingfish from 5 to 2 per person.
Public Consultation
There is still time to contribute to the Victorian Fisheries Authority proposal by contacting Taylor Hunt, Victorian Fisheries Authority’s Manager of Recreational Fisheries on [email protected] during the 30-day public consultation period of commencing on 1 September until 30 September 2025.
Find out more about the proposal via the Victorian Fisheries Authority here.
The Results
Q1: Do you recreationally fish for kingfish in Victoria?
Q2: How many days a year do you fish for kingfish?
Q3: Do you support the proposal to reduce the Victorian recreational fishing bag limit for kingfish from 5 to 2 per person per day?
Further Analysis of Question 3:
- When filtering the responses to only include those who fish recreationally for kingfish [responded ‘Yes’ to Q1], we found that 69% support the proposal to reduce the bag limit of kingfish.
- When filtering the responses to only include responses who answered yes to Q3, respondents who fish 2-5 days per year for kingfish were most supportive of the proposal [23.89%]. Followed by 5-10 days [22.13%], 10+ days [20.78%], Never [17.41%] and 1-2 days [15.79%].
- When filtering the responses to only include responses who answered no to Q3, respondents who fish 2-5 days per year for kingfish were least supportive of the proposal [29.43%]. Followed by 5-10 days [27.30%], 10+ days [26.24%], 1-2 days [13.48%] and Never [3.55%].
Q4: Do you have any other comments you’d like to make?
Some key themes throughout the additional comments included:
- Support for the proposal
- Concerns raised about the proposal
- Raised concerns about fishing guides and charter boat operators and suggested boat limits for charter operators.
- Suggestions for a bag limit of 3 kingfish, slot limits or size limits increased.
- Suggestions for imposing boat limits.
- Suggestions for working with other states or at a Commonwealth level for cohesion across jurisdictions.
Q5: What is your postcode?
The top 20 postcodes provided in Question 5 were:
| Postcode | Area |
| 3844 | Traralgon, Traralgon East, Tyers, Traralgon South, Callignee |
| 3977 | Cranbourne, Cranbourne West, Cranbourne East |
| 3280 | Warrnambool, Dennington |
| 3305 | Portland, Portland North, Bolwarra, Cape Bridgewater |
| 3216 | Belmont, Highton, Grovedale, Waurn Ponds, Geelong, Wandana Heights, Marshall |
| 3825 | Moe, Newborough, Yallourn North, Yallourn, Willow Grove |
| 3030 | Werribee, Point Cook, Melbourne, Werribee South, Cocoroc, Quandong |
| 3199 | Frankston, Frankston South |
| 3915 | Hastings, Tuerong |
| 3941 | Rye, Tootgarook, Saint Andrews Beach |
| 3156 | Ferntree Gully, Lysterfield, Upper Ferntree Gully, Lysterfield South |
| 3197 | Patterson Lakes, Carrum |
| 3023 | Caroline Springs, Deer Park, Ravenhall, Cairnlea, Burnside, Burnside Heights |
| 3850 | Sale, Wurruk |
| 3222 | Drysdale, Clifton Springs, Curlewis, Wallington, Marcus Hill, Mannerim, Drysdale |
| 3201 | Carrum Downs |
| 3934 | Mount Martha |
| 3064 | Craigieburn, Mickleham, Roxburgh Park, Donnybrook |
| 3226 | Ocean Grove, Barwon Heads |
| 3971 | Yarram, Port Albert, Tarraville, Alberton, Devon North |
