Due to the increasing restrictions being placed on gatherings and sporting facilitates as a result of the COVID-19 control measures, underwater hockey games and training events are now cancelled in Bundaberg and throughout the state until further notice.

Wednesday 18th December will be the last underwater hockey game for 2019. After that there will be a couple of weeks break over the Christmas/New Year period. Hockey will resume again at the Norville Park Pool on Wednesday 8th January 2020.

The 21st World Underwater Hockey Championship will be held on the Gold Coast from Jul 20, 2020 to Aug 1, 2020.  Here's a preview:

Some of the Bundaberg UWH players featured today in a sports article on the BundabergNow community website. The article includes some still photos and a short video clip of the underwater action taken at the Norville Park Pool yesterday.

Underwater hockey will restart at the Norville Pool on Wednesday 18th September 2019 at 5:30pm.

Queensland’s new fisheries regulations commenced on 1 September 2019.

Some of the changes affecting recreational fishers include:

• a new annual seasonal closure for snapper and pearl perch from 15 July to 15 August
• increasing the size limit of pearl perch from 35cm to 38cm
• removing extended charter catch limits for snapper and pearl perch
• new boat limits for mud crab, prawns, snapper, black jewfish, barramundi, Spanish mackerel, shark, tropical rock lobster and sea cucumber, which hold the operator of the boat responsible for ensuring no more than 2 times the possession limit of these 9 priority black-market species is on board at any time (the boat limit does not apply to charter boats)
• general possession limit of 20 fish for species without a prescribed possession limit, excluding some bait species
• reducing the mud crab possession limit from 10 to 7
• reducing pipi and mollusc limits from 50 to 30

A more complete list of the changes is detailed in the fact sheet available from the DAF website on Fisheries reform.

The Bundaberg underwater hockey season has now finished as the Norville Park pool prepares to close for winter. Hockey will resume again at the Norville Pool when it re-opens in September. Playing times will be posted closer to the date.

The submission period for responding to the recent discussion paper regarding the rezoning of the Great Sandy Marine park has closed.  It is anticipated that a draft plan will be released sometime around August 2019 when the public will get one more chance to make submissions before the zoning plan is finalised and sent to the minister for approval.

The Queensland Government has released the “Directions Paper of fisheries reforms” to ensure all fishers and the broader community are aware of the Government’s direction on how best to manage the priority fisheries and the next steps.
[Read more...]

The Great Sandy Marine Park extends from Baffle Creek to Double Island Point and includes all of the Bundaberg coastline and Hervey Bay.

The discussion paper for the review of the zoning plan for the Great Sandy Marine Park is due to be released for public consultation on the 14th January 2019.

The public consultation period will be open from 14 January 2019 to 25 February 2019.
[Read more...]