2015-11-10 - P&O Agenda - Item 7, Attach 1 - Historical Ecology of the Noosa Estuary Fisheries

Similar occasions are also recorded, with parties from Brisbane sometimes
travelling to Noosa by boat to fish the local reefs, before travelling back again.
Schnappering also remained a popular sport in Noosa:


“On Wednesday, 9th instant, a party of six went out from Tewantin on a
schnappering excursion in the Waterwitch. Mr. C. Martin, owner of the boat, was in
charge. They returned in the afternoon with 483 fish, mostly schnapper. Comprised
in the total were one red groper, some parrot fish and kelpie. It is the record catch
for this season. The average weight of the catch would be over 4 lbs. Individual
catches are 56, 60, 63, 103, 107, and 94.” Worker, 17 Jun 1915.


Again, it is possible that only the higher catches were recorded within popular
media, but evidence from government reports and the occasional government
survey suggest that the local reefs were highly productive:


“Later on line fishing was tried at the Jew Shoal, off Noosa, and 184 fish, averaging
a little over 3lb were caught during 2.25 hours, including 89 schnapper, weighing
398lb […]. There were in all 12 lines out, the average being something over 21 fish
per line […]. The next day (17th) was spent drifting over the same shoal, and 405
fish weighing 999lb were decked, including a 55lb groper, 6 emperor weighing
32lb, 11 king schnapper (50lb), 39 parrot fish (83 lb), and 223 schnapper (485lb).”
Marine Department, reported in The Queenslander, 6 Aug 1910.


Other fish were also targeted on the outside reefs: mackerel by commercial
fishers and later recreational fishers, in addition to mixed bags comprised of
species such as those described in the previous paragraph. By 1944 eleven
launches targeted snapper on the local reefs off Noosa (Department of Harbours
and Marine 1945).

Recreational records and potential bias

As stated in the previous sections, it is possible that references to recreational
catches published in the newspapers only referred to the best catches, in which


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