MARLIN BONANZA AT LADY MUSGRAVE ISLAND

WHEN A SERIES OF SCIENTIFIC REPORTS DETAILING JAPANESE COMMERCIAL LONGLINE CATCHES ALONG AUSTRALIA’S GRE AT BARRIER REEF WAS RELEASED BY THE GOVERNMENT OF JAPAN IN 1965, THE REPORTS NOT ONLY SPECIFIED HOW PROLIFIC THE BILLFISH WERE OFF CAIRNS, BUT THEY ALSO REVEALED THAT THE SOUTHERN REACHES OF THE REEF OFF BUNDABERG ALSO PRODUCED MEGATONS OF BILLFISH AND TUNA ANNUALLY. THEY HAD INADVERTENTLY DISCOVERED A NEW FISHERY.

A glance at the Queensland marine chart shows that the southern end of the reef is situated right on the edge of Australia’s continental shelf. Before the 200-mile commercial no-fishing zone was enforced in 1979, the Japanese longline fleet plundered this area, catching not only large quantities of black marlin, but blue marlin and the much sought-after striped marlin as well.

QUALITY AND QUANTITY

Since those early reports came to light, the first Australian fishermen to find out just how fishy these grounds between Fraser Island and Lady Musgrave Reef really are were the southern Queensland professional charter captains as they headed to and from Cairns for the heavy-tackle black marlin season. To conserve fuel, these vessels would usually chug along