Fishing limits
Size limit: No minimum legal length
| Fishing zone | Daily bag limit | Daily boat limit |
|---|---|---|
| Spencer Gulf | 1 | 3 |
| Gulf St Vincent and Kangaroo Island | 1 | 2 |
| All other waters | 1 | 3 |
Species with combined daily fishing limits
- Bigeye Thresher
- Black Stingray
- Broadnose Sevengill Shark
- Bronze Whaler Shark
- Common Thresher
- Dusky Whaler Shark
- Melbourne Skate
- School Shark
- Shortfin Mako
- Smooth Hammerhead Shark
- Smooth Sting-ray
Fishing gear restrictions apply to metropolitan shark fishing.
Learn about the rules and handling guidelines for fishing for sharks and rays.
| Fishing zone | Daily bag limit | Daily boat limit |
|---|---|---|
| Spencer Gulf | 1 | 3 |
| Gulf St Vincent and Kangaroo Island | 1 | 1 |
| All other waters | 1 | 3 |
Identification
Bronze whalers have:
- a bronze or copper colour on dorsal side
- pale cream to white undersides
- long upper tail lobes
- hook-shaped, non-serrated upper teeth.
They range in size up to 3.2 m and live for up to 32 years. Bronze Whalers mostly feed on fish and squid.
Spotting the differences between Dusky Whalers and Bronze Whalers
The Bronze Whaler and Dusky Whaler shark species are very similar in appearance. Fishers can use our identification guide (PDF 724.6 KB) to quickly spot the differences between the two.
Habitat
Bronze Whalers are found in the continental shelf and gulf waters of South Australia.
They are highly mobile and have strong seasonality in South Australian waters. Bronze whalers are most commonly sighted and caught between spring and autumn.
Large adult sharks leave the gulfs in autumn to seek out warmer shelf waters and migrate to Western Australia and eastern Australia.