Just had this letter and flyer sent to me - might be of interest to any Adelaide-based anglers who regularly head up to the River Murray.

Public meeting to discuss Murray Cod options paper

PIRSA Fisheries is inviting the public to have their say on the future management of the Murray Cod fishery in South Australia.

Community members are encouraged to attend a public meeting on Tuesday 2 March at 6.30pm at the Adelaide Sailing Club at West Beach.

PIRSA Fisheries Inland Fisheries Management Officer, Jonathan McPhail said the meeting aims to give residents an opportunity to discuss the recent Murray Cod options paper, which was released for public comment in December 2009.

The paper, ‘Management Options for Murray Cod in South Australia’, outlines a number of possible options for the future sustainable management of the iconic freshwater fish.

“Public meetings were held in Berri and Adelaide in mid-2009, where anglers were presented with the latest scientific information on Murray Cod and were informed that PIRSA would be producing a management options paper,” Mr McPhail said.

“The current closure of the Murray Cod fishery will remain in place until at least the end of the year. This paper is the next step of an ongoing process of consultation to outline possible management options for 2011 and beyond.”

The Murray Cod fishery has been closed since 1 August 2008, with PIRSA Fisheries announcing the 2010 closure in December last year.

“We understand how important Murray Cod is to the community, and therefore need their input as to what they view as the best management option going forward,” Mr McPhail said.

“I encourage all local anglers to come along to the meeting and contribute their ideas on how the fishery is managed into the future.

“Murray Cod numbers have significantly declined since European settlement, due to a number of contributing factors such as reduced environmental flows, habitat loss, barriers to fish movement, introduced exotic species, disease, water regulation and fishing.

“So it’s vital that we put in place pro-active management strategies now to ensure a sustainable and viable Murray Cod fishery into the future.”

What: Management Options for Murray Cod in SA – Public Meeting
Where: Adelaide Sailing Club, Barcoo Rd West Beach
When: Tuesday 2 March
Time: 6.30pm

Mr McPhail will deliver a short presentation discussing the various management options outlined in the paper before opening the meeting up for discussion.

The options paper and information on how to submit comments can be found on the PIRSA Fisheries website at: www.pir.sa.gov.au/fisheries. A feedback form is included with the paper. Submissions close at 5.00 pm on 31 March 2010.

Did anybody go to this

Ozzy

Ozzy wrote:


Doesnt look like a great response Ozzy

given the proposals put foward i'm not surprised it was boycotted.

Good turnout from what I have heard. Over 40 people attended the Berri meeting, not sure how many attended this one, but from what Johno McPhail has told me it was very much worthwhile.

Johno tells me that a summary of both meetings will be released soon. I last spoke to him the weekend before the Adelaide meeting and he seemed very buoyed by the response in Berri and was excited about some of the ideas being put forward.

Thanks mate , sounds like some good has come out of it , if they are coming up with some interesting exciting ideas

Ozzy