Applications open at 5pm tomorrow for recreational lobster fishing, with the season commencing on September 1 and running through to the end of March.

In keeping with recent years, 175 licences are allotted by the Ministry of Public Works and Environment.

Of those, 150 are reserved for returning licence holders, with 25 available to new applicants.

To ensure fairness, applications will be accepted online for a nine-day period. Available licences will then be assigned via a random lottery draw.

The application period will close at midnight on August 24, and the lottery will be held by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources the following day, once the eligibility of applicants has been checked.

DENR cautioned that applying would not guarantee a licence.

Successful applicants, who will be notified via e-mail by 9am on August 26, can then visit the DENR offices at the Botanical Gardens in Paget to complete the paperwork and pay for their licence before 4.30pm on September 5.

Applicants who are overseas during this period can nominate someone to pay on their behalf — provided that their representative brings the applicant’s licence card to receive the sticker for the new season.

If a new licence card is required, the applicant must attend the DENR offices in person to have a new photo taken before fishing can proceed.

Any licences not paid for by the September 5 deadline will be placed in a secondary lottery draw for remaining eligible applicants on September 8.

The department advised that anyone intending to fish from September 1 onwards would need to carry their photo identification card issued by DENR for inspection.

Holders of lobster diver licences for the 2024–25 season who did not submit their catch reports by the April 30 deadline will not be eligible for a licence in the upcoming season.

Applicants can also apply for a spearfishing licence through the same online form.

The department said that while there was no limit or defined application period for spearfishing licences, licence holders from the 2024–25 season must have submitted all required fishing activity and catch records to be eligible for renewal.