Under section 183 of the Fisheries Act Regulations, coastal Aboriginal communities and Land Trusts established to hold title to land under the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act may hold a licence to fish and sell fish within areas specified, for the benefit of their community.

The restrictions are that an Aboriginal coastal licensee cannot hold a commercial fishing licence in conjunction with this licence, use other than amateur fishing gear nor sell certain managed species - that is, barramundi, black jewfish, Spanish mackerel and mud crab.

Whereas the purpose of these limitations is to distinguish commercial fishing from activities which could reasonably be embraced within a notion of traditional economic activity, this is a contentious distinction, which continues to be redefined in the courts.