DUBBED as one of the biggest fishing hauls of the year, the east coast "mullet run" kicked off to a surprising start on Stockton Beach with fishermen pulling in Australian salmon with some tailor mixed in on Thursday morning.
Despite wet and gloomy conditions, fourth-generation fisherman, Greg Tarrant hopes this season stands up to 2023.
Last year was one of their best years yet, with a haul of 300 tonnes across the season.
"Hopefully this year will be a good season because we haven't had floods like in the past years," Mr Tarrant said, "we will have a good go at it."
Around Easter each year, mullets from estuaries, lakes and rivers swim out into the ocean and make their way up north.
During the six week season, Mr Tarrant and his eight-person crew fish for mullets from Stockton coastline up to Fingal Bay, sometimes camping out for days.
A rainy start to the season
With 25 millimetres of rain forecast on April 4, Mr Tarrant and his crew got to the beach at the crack of dawn to watch for mullets.
But wet weather that hit the Hunter made for less than ideal fishing conditions.
"Today it was overcast, wet and miserable," Mr Tarrant said.
"Southeasterly winds could help with mullet fishing."
On the first day of the season, the salmon were mistaken for mullets and his crew had to cut their nets open, letting salmon swim away.
Mr Tarrant said there were limits on how much salmon could be sold to markets, but they managed to sell five tonnes of salmon. His crew also sold 300 kilograms of tailor to the Port Stephens fish co-op.
Despite a mullet-less day, Mr Tarrant was not deterred.
"It's still not bad money, we are selling these salmon to Sydney Fish Markets," he said.
How the mullet market works
Robin Pasmore of Markwell Fisheries in Chinderah, NSW, said they get 200 to 300 tonnes of mullets on average per year from the Port Stephens and Newcastle area.
Across the state, Markwell Fisheries averages about 1500 tonnes of mullets.
Mr Pasmore said there was a long family history of mullet fishing and the fishery had been sourcing fish from Newcastle since 1980.
"We export about 90 per cent of the fish we receive to places like Taiwan, Italy, Greece, Japan, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea," Mr Pasmore said.
He said fishermen take mullets from the beach to co-ops, where they are iced and tanked before travelling up to the Chinderah fishery via trucks.
Heavy rain can dirty the waters deterring fish from coming close to shore, he said, and making it difficult to spot mullet schools.
Mr Pasmore said strong winds and choppy surf conditions could also make fishing hazardous.
Wet weather outlook
The Bureau of Meteorology warned of a coastal trough developing on the Mid North Coast on Thursday which is predicted to shift to the Hunter by Friday.
"It's forecast to deepen and potentially develop into a low pressure system between tomorrow and Saturday and will move towards Southern parts of the state by early Sunday," the bureau's community engagement officer Brooke Pagel said.
Areas of Lismore and Byron Bay had seen between 50 and 80 millimetres within the last 24 hours on Thursday morning.
"We are expecting that rain to set in today and ramp up overnight, while in the Hunter Valley we're expecting that 25 millimetres from Newcastle down to Gosford, inland to Scone, Mudgee and Tamworth," Ms Pagel said.
"It's a large part of New South Wales that's going to cop this rainfall and tomorrow it will really ramp up."
Widespread totals of between 50 and 100mm are forecast for Friday and Ms Pagel said if severe storms do develop, there's a potential to see up to 150 millimetres over that 24-hour period.
She said there is a marine gale force wind warning for the Hunter Coast with hazardous surf conditions, and a sheep graziers warning for the Hunter Valley.
"It's going to be really windy on the coast with gusts of up to 60 and 75 kilometres per hour. We don't expect to see many boaters or rock fishing out there, it's going to be very bumpy," she said.
Flood warning and event cancellations
The rainfall may cause minor to moderate flooding in parts of the Hunter with flood watch warnings now in place for Singleton, Wollombi Brook, the Lower Hunter River, the Hunter River, the Paterson and Williams rivers and Myall River.
"Those catchment areas are very wet at the moment. These will be updated throughout the day and tomorrow, we're really keeping an eye on the Lower Hunter River," Ms Pagel said.
The significant rainfall forecast has put a rain check on this weekend's Maitland and Lake Macquarie Cinema under the Stars event which was due to take place on Friday in Maitland and Saturday in Lake Macquarie.
"With the days getting shorter and the evenings getting cooler, we are instead planning a special spring edition of Cinema Under the Stars in Maitland and Lake Macquarie, more details to come," an event spokesperson said.
While still wet and cloudy, conditions are expected to ease by Saturday with between 25 and 50mm of rain and on Sunday it will "completely break off", Ms Pagel said.
"On Sunday it completely breaks off and runs itself down and we're looking at just cloudy conditions, maybe shower or two, zero to one millimetres," she said.
A high pressure system is expected to dominate and help push the rain system out of the way, she said.
The NSW SES advises residents to stay informed by monitoring flood warnings issued by NSW SES on their website and Facebook page, listening to your local ABC radio station, and checking the latest weather information from the Bureau of Meteorology online.
For emergency help in floods, storms and tsunamis, call the NSW SES on 132 500. In life-threatening situations, call Triple Zero (000) immediately.
What you need to do:
- If you have a Home and/or Business Emergency Plan, review it now. Otherwise, have a conversation and plan for what you will do and take with you if you need to evacuate.
- Consider the consequences of road and bridge closures and water over roads and make alternate arrangements for work, children, and travel.
- Obey all signs about road closures and instructions from emergency services.
- Never drive, walk, ride through, play or swim in flood water - it is dangerous, toxic, and may void your car insurance. If it's flooded, forget it. Fines may apply.
- Avoid storm drains and pipes, ditches, ravines, creeks, and rivers.
- People in areas likely to be impacted by flooding should raise their assets, including waste and chemical containers above expected flood heights.
- Share this information with family, friends, and neighbours and help others prepare where possible.
- If you are likely to be isolated due to flooding, stock up on essential items now.
