Octopus
Fishery Overview
Victoria’s new Octopus (Eastern Zone) Fishery harvests mainly pale octopus – Octopus pallidus – in East Gippsland using purpose-built unbaited traps which minimise bycatch. The fishery commenced on 1 August 2020.
This new, standalone octopus fishery builds on the success of the emerging boutique octopus fishery which has established within another licence class over the last 5 years.
TACC
The 2020/21 Total Allowable Commercial Catch (TACC) for the eastern octopus zone is 68.7 tonnes.
Licence holders are required to complete a research sampling logbook alongside their normal daily catch record, to provide additional information to assist management as the fishery continues to develop.
Fishery location
Octopus Fishery Access Licences authorise commercial take of octopus from the eastern octopus zone. This is where the majority of commercial octopus fishing in Victoria has occurred to date. It extends approximately from Seaspray to the Victorian/NSW border and out to 20 nautical miles offshore, except for marine reserves.
Octopus fishing in the central and western octopus zones is less established and is being managed by the VFA through exploratory, temporary permits.