Botany Bay

Fish documented nearby, not here

Nothing below has been documented at Botany Bay itself. Each one has been documented at a named place on the same ground, and the places are listed with it. Treat this as what the water around here holds rather than as a catch list for this mark.

Named only as a group

The guide for Botany Bay also names these fish by a name that covers more than one species here. It does not say which, so none is attached to this place.

• bream — could be Black bream or Yellowfin bream. Black bream and yellowfin bream overlap in south-east Australia and hybridise in Victoria; the working difference is the colour of the pelvic and anal fins.
• whiting — could be Sand whiting, King George whiting or Yellowfin whiting. The NSW department's Great Lakes guide says its whiting are sand or yellowfin whiting, and the Victorian bays' are King George whiting; "whiting" alone does not say which.

How people fish it

Practised here: Sea fishing, Lure fishing.

Methods the sources name for this ground. Each one is explained in full on its own page.

• Ledgering

  Fishing a bait on the bottom held by a weight, with no float — the simplest way to fish at distance, in depth, or in wind.

• Spinning

  Casting an artificial lure and retrieving it so that it moves like something alive — the most direct form of lure fishing.

• Drift fishing

  Letting the boat move with tide and wind while fishing, so the tackle searches ground instead of waiting on it — and the decision that determines whether a boat session works at all.

• Kayak fishing

  A platform rather than a technique: quiet, shallow-draught access to water no other craft reaches, bought at the price of exposure, and a discipline where the decision not to launch is part of the skill.

Baits and lures for these fish

The baits and lures each of the fish above is commonly taken on, from that fish’s own page. This is what works for the fish, not a report of what people use on this particular water — local knowledge and the conditions on the day still decide.

The ground and the water

The ground

The large bay thirteen kilometres south of Sydney's city centre, between Kamay National Park at Cape Solander and the Port Botany breakwall at Molineaux Point, with the airport runways on its western side. A recreational fishing haven since 2002, with commercial fishing removed, it is fished from boats, kayaks and the shore. The department gives dusky flathead, bream, mulloway, silver trevally, whiting and luderick as its common estuary fish.

Through the year

Rules and access

Particular to this water: In the Towra Point Aquatic Reserve on the southern shore, fishing is prohibited in the sanctuary zones; in the refuge zones hook and line is allowed but no invertebrates or marine plants may be taken. The department says restrictions also apply around the airport runways and at Port Botany, and points to the state's dietary advice for fish caught in the bay and the Georges River.

Beyond what is stated above, FishingHQ does not know the current access position here. New South Wales requires its recreational fishing fee to be paid in all its waters, with exemptions the state lists. Marine parks and aquatic reserves have zones where fishing is not allowed or only some methods are, much of the shore is an intertidal protected area where shellfish and other invertebrates may not be taken, the state publishes advice against eating fish from some waters, and wearing a lifejacket is the law when rock fishing in declared council areas. Bag and size limits change. Check the current position with the NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development before going.

Who holds the answer:

• The NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, which collects the fishing fee and publishes the rules, closures and marine park zoning.
• The council, port or land manager, where the shore or wharf is theirs.
• The NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, which sets the recreational fishing fee and its exemptions and publishes the rules, closures, marine park zoning and freshwater seasons.
• Service NSW, the state's service through which the licence is bought.
• The council, port or land manager, for wharves, parks, reserves and other land it owns or leases, which carry rules of their own.
• The NSW Food Authority, for advice on eating fish from waters with a contamination advisory, including Sydney Harbour.
• The managers of Booderee National Park, on Jervis Bay's southern shore, which is Commonwealth land with its own fishing rules.
• The NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development: collects the fishing fee and publishes the bag and size limits, closures and reserve rules for this water.

Nearby fishing

Other publicly documented places within about 40 km, by distance. Positions are approximate public geography and are never exact marks.

• Walsh Bay piers — 10–25 km · Pier
• McMahons Point — 10–25 km · Jetty
• Balls Head Reserve — 10–25 km · Headland
• Clarkes Point Reserve — 10–25 km · Headland
• Clifton Gardens Wharf — 10–25 km · Jetty
• Parramatta River, Gladesville to Ryde — 10–25 km · Estuary
• Parramatta River — 10–25 km · Estuary
• The Spit Bridge — 10–25 km · Bridge

Sources for this place

• Go Fishing — Botany Bay Recreational Fishing Haven — NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, 2024 (Government fisheries body)Relied on for: The state fisheries department's Botany Bay guide: the haven, the fish, the methods, the aquatic reserve and the other restrictions it states.States this directlyPassage read and verified
• Recreational fishing fee — NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (Government fisheries body)Relied on for: That the NSW recreational fishing fee must be paid, and a receipt carried, when fishing in any NSW water.States this directlyPassage read and verified
• FishBase: a global information system on fishes — Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds. — FishBase Consortium (Scientific institute)Relied on for: That Arripis truttaceus ranges from Western Australia to Victoria and Tasmania and Arripis trutta from Brisbane to western Victoria, so 'Australian salmon' on this coast is Arripis trutta.States this directlyPassage read and verified

How FishingHQ labels evidence is explained in the evidence policy. Last reviewed 2026-10-22.