The black jewfish was traditionally caught purely for its taste, but five years ago it became marine gold when its swim bladder drew high demand from the Asian medicinal black market.
If you have fresh black jewfish fillets on your Christmas menu and you are in Queensland you will be breaking the law.The catch increased almost tenfold in just 18 months, from 20 to 140 tonnesThe tasty species is banned from being fished until January 1 as part of the Queensland government's crackdown on a lucrative black market.
It was enough to concern the Queensland government over the fish's sustainability, so it brought in sweeping changes. Dr Joanne Randall, pictured with a barramundi, says management and quotas were introduced when numbers plummeted. It is also a fast-growing fish, reaching maturity and a length of 90 centimetres within two years, and found in large schools, adding to their value, she said.
Mr Caracciolo wanted to see the Queensland government bring itself into line with the Northern Territory where the annual quota was 140 tonnes. "Catch and release doesn't work for these fish because they are coming out of such depths and they just die," Mr Caracciolo said.
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