Safety & Regulations
Safe, responsible diving is at the heart of Sunshine Coast Skindivers. This page brings together key resources to help members understand best-practice spearfishing, stay up to date with Queensland fisheries and marine park rules, and access important safety information before getting in the water.
Spearsafe
Spearsafe is a national spearfishing safety initiative designed to improve awareness, risk assessment and best-practice behaviour for Australian spearfishers. It brings together important information around shallow water blackout, buddy diving, emergency response, dive planning and safer breath-hold practices.
Queensland Fishing Rules & App
Queensland fishing rules can change, and it is each diver’s responsibility to understand the current size limits, possession limits, closures and species-specific rules before taking fish.
The Qld Fishing 2.0 app is a useful tool for checking recreational fishing rules, searching species, viewing possession and size limits, recording catches and accessing location-based information while on the water.
Marine Park Zones & Spearfishing Areas
Many of our club members dive across South East Queensland, the Southern Great Barrier Reef and Northern NSW, so it is important to check the correct marine park zoning before entering the water. For Moreton Bay and Great Sandy Marine Parks, use the Marine Parks Southern Queensland app and maps. For the Southern Great Barrier Reef, the Eye on the Reef app is the best practical resource for checking where you can and cannot spear. You can also check the official Great Barrier Reef zoning maps.
Members travelling into Northern NSW should check the FishSmart NSW app, along with official NSW marine park information for areas such as Cape Byron Marine Park and Solitary Islands Marine Park.
Marine park zoning and fisheries rules are the responsibility of each diver, so always check your exact location, species rules and possession limits before diving. When in doubt, do not shoot.