Maps of directions, closures and fishing areas

AFMA uses a number of closures to help manage impacts of fishing to certain species or habitats. These closures can be used to restrict fishing to certain depths, gear types, locations and times of the year. These closures are implemented through legislative closure directions or fishing concession conditions. AFMA is now providing these closures electronically in map files to help scientists, fishers and the public know where these closures are and what they look like.

AFMA does not represent or warrant the accuracy, completeness or currency of the maps and accepts no obligation to correct or update any of the information contained within the maps. Accordingly, to the extent permitted by law, AFMA disclaims liability for any loss or damage arising as a result of the use of the maps published. AFMA reminds fishers it is their responsibility to keep maps up to date based on current fishing rules.

The maps published here are only closures that have been created by AFMA for Commonwealth fishers. State or other closures established by other agencies such as those from the Department of Agriculture Water and the Environment, National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA), or Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) still need to be followed.

AFMA publishes closure maps in four formats:

• GPX (GPS Exchange Format) which is often used for Garmin and Humminbird plotters and mapping.
• KML (Keyhold Markup Language) for use by Google Earth mapping. KMZ is a compressed KML file.
• MIF (MapInfo Interchange Format) for MapInfo mapping. This contains both MIF and MID files in a zip file.
• SHP (Shapefiles) for ESRI and other shape file format mapping. This contains multiple files needed for Shapefiles in a zip file.

All AFMA publications and material in whatever form or media are protected under the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. For example, under the provisions of the Act, the Commonwealth’s copyright will be infringed if any person or organisation reproduces or publishes AFMA material without having our written permission in advance.

AFMA is happy to received feedback on the maps. Please email communications@afma.gov.au to provide feedback on formats and how you have been using them.