Vongole fishery

The Vongole Fishery consists of the taking of Vongole (Mud Cockle) in a Vongole fishing zone. The 3 fishing zones are:

• West Coast
• Coffin Bay
• Port River.

There are 3 species in the Vongole fishery:

• Katelysia Scalarina (greys)
• K. rhytiphora (yellows)
• K. peronii (whites).

The Vongole fishery uses cockle rakes.

Licensing

Expiry

There are no new licences available for the Vongole fishery.

Fees

Commercial licence fees must be paid each financial year. Invoices are issued annually in June and payments can be made:

• up-front
• in a lump sum
• in quarterly instalments.

Transfer licence or quota

Vongole fishery licences and quota entitlements are fully transferable. Vongole quota entitlements can only be transferred to other vongole fishery licences.

A quota unit for a Vongole zone of the fishery can only be used to take Vongole from that zone. Quota units cannot be transferred for use in other zones.

Use these forms to transfer a licence or quota:

• Application to transfer vongole quota units (PDF 158.6 KB)
• Application to transfer a vongole fishery licence (PDF 268.7 KB)

Boat registration and de-registration

All boats used for commercial fishing must be registered.

To register or de-register use the Application to vary a boat registration endorsement form (PDF 139.7 KB).

Boat master registration

Licence holders must be registered as the master of the licence. Use this form to register:

• Application to change registration of a master (PDF 188.7 KB).

Vongole fishery management

On 1 July 2021, the Vongole fishery became a standalone fishery. Previously it was part of the Marine Scalefish fishery.

Management plan:

• Management plan for the South Australian commercial marine scalefish fishery (PDF 2.1 MB) – published in 2013

Stock assessment reports:

• Harvestable Biomass in the South Australian Vongole Fishery (Katelysia spp.) (PDF 2.3 MB) – published 2022
• Harvestable biomass of Katelysia spp. in the South Australian Vongole Fishery (PDF 3.3 MB) – published 2020

Economic indicator reports:

• BDO Australia website

Department of Environment

The Australian Government Department of the Environment requires that all commercial fisheries that export product be assessed under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. Product from the Marine Scalefish Fishery is currently approved for export.

For more information, see South Australian managed fisheries.

Rules and regulations

The fishery is licenced under the Fisheries Management Act 2007.

Fishing activities are regulated under the:

• Fisheries Management (Vongole Fishery) Regulations 2021
• Fisheries Management (General) Regulations 2017.

Determinations

Notices to commercial fishers

See the notices to commercial fishers.

Closures

See fishing closures including the Port River.

Contact

Clint Rollins – Fisheries Management Officer 
Phone: (08) 7133 7644
Email: clint.rollins@sa.gov.au