The Department of Fisheries and Oceans has updated some of its regulations to better protect the independence of licence holders in commercial inshore fisheries.

The updated regulations are in relation to policies that govern licenses.

They help control who gets a license, who can use it, and who retains any benefits generated.

The new rules came into effect yesterday.

Inshore independent core licence holders now have to confirm they are compliant with the new regulations by completing an electronic form available via the National Online Licensing System, and they must maintain a crew registry for every fishing trip and maintain those records for five years.