Sources & disclaimers

1. Weather and sea forecasts: Open-Meteo

What we use

Hourly wind speed, gusts and direction, rain and rain probability, thunderstorm codes, temperature, air pressure and cloud from up to eight global weather models, for a point in Moreton Bay off Scarborough. The models come from ECMWF (IFS and AIFS), NOAA (GFS and AIGFS), DWD (ICON), the UK Met Office, the Canadian Meteorological Centre (GEM) and the China Meteorological Administration (CMA GRAPES). For the Conditions now page we also use current conditions and 15-minute forecasts for the next few hours (wind, gusts, direction, rain and storm codes). From Open-Meteo's Marine API we use wave height (ECMWF's WAM wave model) and sea-surface temperature (Météo-France's ocean model from the Copernicus Marine Service).

Licence

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0), used under Open-Meteo's free, non-commercial terms. UK Met Office data reaches Open-Meteo under CC BY-SA 4.0, so our combined forecast values that include it are shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Credit

Weather data by Open-Meteo.com, shown next to every forecast. Sea temperature and waves: Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information. Full list of Open-Meteo's sources: open-meteo.com/en/licence.

What we changed

We convert units and times (knots, Brisbane time), combine the models into a consensus with a measure of how much they agree, and turn that into our own day ratings and best times. Our server fetches the forecast and caches it for everyone, so your browser never contacts Open-Meteo directly.

Note

Open-Meteo says its modelled sea data has limited accuracy near the coast and is not suitable for coastal navigation. We don't use it for tides; tide times and heights come from Maritime Safety Queensland (below).

2. Tide predictions: Maritime Safety Queensland

What we use

The official predicted high and low tide times and heights for Scarborough Boat Harbour (tide station 048002B), and the 10-minute predicted heights (for earlier years, and for a new year whose high/low file isn't out yet, when we work out the highs and lows from them), from the Scarborough tide gauge predicted high/low data and predicted interval data on the Queensland Government open data portal.

Licence

CC BY 4.0.

Credit

Tide predictions: Maritime Safety Queensland, © State of Queensland (Department of Transport and Main Roads) 2026, CC BY 4.0, via data.qld.gov.au.

What we changed

We convert the files into our own format and draw a smooth tide curve between the highs and lows, from which we work out the tide stage and how fast the water is moving. Heights are in metres above Lowest Astronomical Tide (LAT); times are Brisbane time (AEST, UTC+10). Maritime Safety Queensland publishes each year's predictions around December or January. Until it does, we show estimates calculated from tidal constituents we fitted to its earlier predictions, clearly marked "estimated".

Note

Tide heights are predictions only. Actual water levels differ with air pressure, wind and storm surge.

Department of Transport and Main Roads disclaimer

The Department of Transport and Main Roads gives no warranty of any kind whether express, implied, statutory or otherwise in respect to the availability, accuracy, currency, completeness, quality or reliability of the information or that the information will be fit for any particular purpose or will not infringe any third party Intellectual Property rights. The Department of Transport and Main Roads liability for any loss, damage, cost or expense resulting from use of, or reliance on, the information is entirely excluded.

Bureau of Meteorology tidal disclaimer

Queensland's printed tide tables state that copyright in the tidal prediction tables is held by the Commonwealth of Australia, represented by the National Tidal Centre, Bureau of Meteorology. In case that also applies to these predictions, we include the Bureau's disclaimer for products based on its information:

This product is based on Bureau of Meteorology information that has subsequently been modified. The Bureau does not necessarily support or endorse, or have any connection with, the product.

In respect of that part of the information which is sourced from the Bureau, and to the maximum extent permitted by law: (i) the Bureau makes no representation and gives no warranty of any kind whether express, implied, statutory or otherwise in respect to the availability, accuracy, currency, completeness, quality or reliability of the information or that the information will be fit for any particular purpose or will not infringe any third party Intellectual Property rights; and (ii) the Bureau's liability for any loss, damage, cost or expense resulting from use of, or reliance on, the information is entirely excluded.

3. Measured water level: Coastal Data System

What we use

The last few hours of observed water level, predicted level and the difference between them at the Scarborough tide gauge, from the Coastal Data System near real time tide data (its 7-day tide data file). Our server fetches it and caches it for about 10 minutes.

Licence

CC BY 4.0.

Credit

Measured water levels: Coastal Data System near real time tide data, © State of Queensland (Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation), CC BY 4.0.

What we changed

We keep only the Scarborough readings from the last few hours, drop missing values and convert the times.

Note

This is raw, near real-time data that has not been quality-checked. It can have gaps or errors, and by the time it reaches the site it is usually 30 minutes to an hour old.

4. Marine park zones: Moreton Bay Marine Park

What we use

Zone boundaries around the Redcliffe Peninsula from the Queensland Government's Moreton Bay Marine Park zones data. We use them to show the zone at each of our listed fishing spots and, on the Conditions now page, to check on your own device whether your position is inside a green zone.

Licence

CC BY 4.0.

Credit

© State of Queensland (Department of Environment and Science), 2021.

What we changed

We kept only the zones near the peninsula and each zone's ID, name and type, and simplified the boundary shapes to keep the file small, so they are less precise than the official maps, especially near zone edges.

Note

Guide only — not for navigation. Check the Marine Parks Southern Queensland app or the official zoning maps before you fish. The zoning plan is under review, so zones may change.

5. Fishing rules: Fisheries Queensland

What we use

Short summaries of size limits, possession limits and closed seasons for the species we cover, each dated with when we last checked it.

Credit

Source: Queensland Government (qld.gov.au), © State of Queensland, CC BY 4.0 — checked 7 Oct 2026.

Note

Rules change, sometimes at short notice. Always check the official pages: size and possession limits (tidal waters), closed seasons and the Qld Fishing 2.0 app. We don't use Queensland Government logos, the coat of arms, or fish illustrations and photos from these pages.

6. Local fishing reports: Coastwatch

What we use

For the latest weekly Coastwatch fishing report, we show its headline, date, the tackle shop credited for the Redcliffe Peninsula section and which species and local places that section mentions, with a link to the full report. Recently reported species can nudge our "what to target" suggestions. Our server reads the report's public feed and caches what it found for about 6 hours.

Note

We don't republish the report's text; read it on Coastwatch. Coastwatch and the shops it credits are not connected with Catch Signal.

7. Bureau of Meteorology

We link to the Bureau's official forecasts, warnings and observations (see Before you go). We don't copy, store, display or reword Bureau forecasts, warnings, observations, radar or maps, and Catch Signal is not connected with or endorsed by the Bureau.

8. Our own calculations

Sun and moon

Sunrise, sunset, dawn, dusk and moon phase are calculated on your device with standard published astronomical formulas (Astronomy Answers and the NOAA solar calculator equations). No outside data is used.

Ratings

Each day's rating compares its score with how the same scoring rated the past days of the same month, 2023 to 2025, for your mode. Only the days that pass that mode's safety check (neither marginal nor no-go) are counted. For shore fishing that is nearly every day. For a small boat or a kayak far fewer days qualify, so neighbouring months are pooled where a month has too few, and an Excellent day comes round less often than it does for shore fishing. The past weather is the median of the same weather models the live forecast blends (six or seven of its eight are archived for those years), from Open-Meteo's Historical Forecast API (CC BY 4.0). The past waves are Météo-France's MFWAM wave model from the Open-Meteo Marine API, quantile-mapped onto ECMWF WAM (the wave model the live forecast uses), because ECMWF WAM's own archive for this spot only starts in late 2025 (wave history: Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information). Tides are Maritime Safety Queensland's predictions for those years.

Conditions now

The Conditions now page's stay, move or head-in advice is worked out on your device from the forecasts above (Open-Meteo's current conditions and 15-minute forecast for a point in the bay, plus the hourly forecast), the Scarborough tide gauge, our simplified marine park zone map and, only if you turn it on, your device's location, which never leaves your device. It is a model-based guide, not a measurement of the conditions where you are, and a "head in by" time is an estimate. If it looks unsafe where you are, trust your eyes and head in. In an emergency call 000 (or 112 from a mobile), or use VHF channel 16.

Species, bait and spot guides

Written by Catch Signal in our own words from public information, including Fisheries Queensland rules, the Moreton Bay Marine Park user guide, local fishing columns and tackle shop reports.

Fonts and logo

Barlow, Barlow Condensed and IBM Plex Mono, under the SIL Open Font License, served by Google Fonts. The Catch Signal logo is our own.

9. What we changed

Catch Signal has reformatted the data above (units, time zones and file formats), combined it into its own consensus forecasts, ratings and advice, and adds its own estimates where they are marked. No data source endorses Catch Signal or is responsible for how we use its data.

10. General disclaimers

• Queensland Government information is used under the Queensland Government copyright notice and is subject to its disclaimer.
• Licence for the CC BY material on this page: creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0.
• Catch Signal's own terms, including our disclaimer of warranties, are in the terms of use.
• Spotted a mistake or an out-of-date rule? Email hello@catchsignal.com.au.