Spearfishing South-East Queensland
South-East Queensland is subtropical rock, training walls and marine-park zoning. The region runs from the Gold Coast headlands through Moreton Bay and Straddie to Noosa, Rainbow Beach and Hervey Bay.
Two very different waters share one region. The open ocean side - Burleigh and Currumbin, Point Lookout on North Stradbroke, Point Cartwright and Point Arkwright on the Sunshine Coast, Double Island Point at Rainbow Beach - is rock, boulder and fringing reef in 2-12 m with snapper, sweetlip, trevally, kingfish and mackerel. The bay side - Moreton Bay, Hervey Bay, the Urangan Pier - is shallow, tidal, seagrass and mud, often under a few metres of visibility, and honestly info-grade rather than prime. Training walls and breakwalls do a lot of the work here: the Gold Coast Seaway south wall, Mooloolaba's ocean face, Tallebudgera and the Tuncurry-style entrances all hold structure when the open coast is stirred.
It is diveable much of the year - this is warm-shelf water, and cold is not the gate. Wind chop, passing fronts, river run-off from the Nerang, Mooloolah, Noosa and Mary and the summer wet are what shut the day; clarity is best on a settled easterly-free spell. The east-facing marks read a bad sector of roughly 20-180 degrees, while Hervey Bay and Noosa's north-facing corners work when the southerly is up. Note the annual snapper and pearl perch closure on east-coast tidal waters, 15 July to 15 August.
Rules: Fisheries Queensland. No recreational licence is required for tidal-water fishing, but spear and speargun (including a bow-propelled spear) are permitted gear only in selected tidal locations, underwater breathing apparatus may not be used to take fish (snorkel only), powerheads are for shark defence only, all fresh water is closed, and there is no night spearing of barramundi. Great Sandy Marine Park and Moreton Bay Marine Park zoning sits on top - Marine National Park green zones such as Wolf Rock (MNP27) off Double Island Point are no-take, and Shag Rock/Manta Bommie off Point Lookout is a green zone too. Check https://www.qld.gov.au/recreation/activities/boating-fishing/rec-fishing/rules and the marine-park zoning maps. Safety, conditionally: heavy boat traffic through the Seaway and the river entrances, hard tidal flow at Inskip Point and the Alley, and Queensland Health's warm-water fish advice (avoid head, roe and liver; limit large warm-water fish) applies here as it does further north.
Top spots
| Spot | Nearest city | Character |
|---|---|---|
| Gold Coast Seaway — south wall (ocean face) | Gold Coast (Palm Beach) | Rock training wall at the Nerang River entrance, boulder faces and… |
| Wellington Point / King Island | Brisbane / Moreton Bay | Bayside flats and seagrass |
| Adder Rock | North Stradbroke (Point Lookout) | Rock outcrop at the east end of Home Beach |
| Granite Bay (Noosa NP) | Sunshine Coast (Mooloolaba) | Granite boulder bay in Noosa National Park with caves and ledges |
| Alexandria Bay — Devils Kitchen | Noosa Heads | Devils Kitchen is a 60 m boulder beach in the basalt south of… |
| Inskip Point | Rainbow Beach | Sand spit at the Tin Can Bay entrance opposite Fraser Island |
Reserves & no-take zones
- Marine Parks (Great Sandy) MNP27 Wolf Rock — No-take / spearfishing banned: Spearfishing banned in this protected marine zone.
Cities in this region
FAQ
Do you need a licence to spearfish in Queensland?
No recreational licence is required for tidal-water fishing in Queensland, but the gear rules still bind: snorkel only, no SCUBA or hookah to take fish, no powerheads for fishing, no fresh water, and spearing is allowed only in selected tidal locations.
When is the best time in South-East Queensland?
Most of the year is diveable - this is warm-shelf water. Clarity is the limiter: wind chop, fronts and river run-off after rain decide the day, and the east-facing marks are out on anything in the 20-180 degree sector. The snapper and pearl perch closure runs 15 July to 15 August.
Which green zones matter here?
Great Sandy Marine Park's Wolf Rock (MNP27) off Double Island Point is a Marine National Park green zone, and Shag Rock / Manta Bommie off Point Lookout sits in a Moreton Bay Marine Park green zone. Green zones are no-take - check the current zoning map, not the reputation of the mark.
Is Moreton Bay or Hervey Bay worth diving?
As information and beginner water, yes; as prime hunting, less so. Both are shallow, muddy and tidal with low visibility, and our data rates Gladstone-style bay marks marginal. The clearer diving is boat-based offshore or on the ocean side of Straddie and the Sunshine Coast.
See also: NSW South Coast · QLD Capricorn Coast