Gillnet fishing on the Great Barrier Reef is unsustainable and is devastating breeding schools, the Fishers for Conservation group says.
"This gillnet fishery, which operates by dragging large nets in the inshore waters of the (marine) park, is unsustainable at current levels," David Cook, lead author of a report on the practice said on Tuesday.
"We are losing our breeding schools of king salmon, queenfish, grunter, fingermark and grey mackerel and now it's almost impossible to catch a barramundi big enough to keep."
Mr Cook and co-authors from Rockhampton, Mackay, Cairns and Cooktown produced the report documenting recreational, commercial, and charter fishers' concerns for failing inshore fish stocks and wildlife deaths.
He said the issue of gillnet fishing should not be confused with the reef fishery, which he said appears to be well-managed and sustainable.
"However, there is a different sweep of fish species that live in our estuaries and inshore waters and these are the ones that have been hammered by the big netters," he said.
"We have been supporting the local fishers' fight to keep net boats from targeting spawning aggregations for over three years now.
"This kind of fishing is unsustainable. It targets fish when they are at their most vulnerable and prevents them from reproducing."
Mr Cook said a disturbing side effect was the entanglement of dugong, turtles and other wildlife.
"In this day and age, it is shocking to think that this is going on in the shadow of the World Heritage-listed Daintree and the world famous Great Barrier Reef.
"It is time to apply a bit of common sense and protect these fish stocks."
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