Tacklebags 404 Posted February 13, 2015 Report Share Posted February 13, 2015 Small pelagic fishery industry welcomes new large trawler to open up Australian fishery for sardines and redbait ABC RuralBy Sarina Locke Posted 18 minutes agoFri 13 Feb 2015, 12:26pm Photo: Sardines are among the proposed catch for the Geelong Star. (Flickr: rockyeda) Map: Sydney 2000 Two years after the federal Labor government stopped a super trawler fishing in southern Australian waters, the company is back with a new, smaller ship. Seafish Tasmania, a joint venture with the Dutch ship owner of the Geelong Star, will start fishing small pelagic fish in a couple of months. The jack mackerel, blue mackerel, redbait and sardines will be frozen on board, for human consumption. Graeme Turk, of the Small Pelagic Fishery Association, said his 29 members who hold quotas for the fishery support the new venture, as it will open up a new lucrative industry. "If you can't freeze them immediately, the fish deteriorates very quickly. They're very high in omega 3 oil," he said. "So in the past it could only be used for fish feed. Media player: "Space" to play, "M" to mute, "left" and "right" to seek. Audio: Small Pelagic Fishing Industry Association welcomes Seafish Tasmania's plans to trawl for and freeze redbait, mackerel and sardines in Australian waters, for human consumption. (ABC Rural) "Now, being able to freeze on board, it will be able to be used for human consumption." Mr Turk estimated the fishery might be worth tens of millions of dollars. He said the Geelong Star was well under the size limit allowed by the Australian Government. At 95 metres long, it is two-thirds the size of the previous super trawler. The Marine Stewardship Council's website said the super trawler Margiris, reflagged as the Abel Tasman, was capable of operating for 24 hours a day without having to return to port. It said there were concerns even smaller vessels caused overfishing of small pelagic fisheries in the 1990s. But the Small Pelagic Fishery Industry Association said there had been plenty of science done in the last couple of years into quotas. "Various studies have shown this boat will not have a serious impact on the ecosystem," Mr Turk said. "The total allowable catch is about 35,000 tonnes, which represents 7.5 per cent of the biomass. "So 92 per cent of the fish would be left in the water." Mr Turk said this trawler would only be able to fish for a few months before the season ends, so was only likely to catch about 8,000 tonnes between now and the end of June. Seafish Tasmania is applying to the Marine Stewardship Council to assess and certify the fishery is sustainable. But Game Fish Tasmania is nervous about the latest proposal, saying it is not the length of the vessel but its ability to fish out local areas that causes worry. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-02-13/big-trawler-small-pelagic-fishery/6091164 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
seagypsy 1,182 Posted February 13, 2015 Report Share Posted February 13, 2015 95m LOA tell em to piss off Quote Link to post Share on other sites
projoe 261 Posted February 13, 2015 Report Share Posted February 13, 2015 say goodbye to the renewed tuna fishery! seagypsy 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tinker 1,645 Posted February 13, 2015 Report Share Posted February 13, 2015 If somebody could lend me a drill that works underwater, I will happily sacrifice quality fishing time to drill lots of little holes in it and sink the bastard. Make a nice artificial wreck. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JoshS 7 Posted February 13, 2015 Report Share Posted February 13, 2015 Only 8000 tonnes! Still BS the amount of by catch they will get will be ridiculous, Don't see why they cant go over to NZ they have a much stronger fishery than we do. Tinker 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Underpants 1,543 Posted February 14, 2015 Report Share Posted February 14, 2015 If somebody could lend me a drill that works underwater, I will happily sacrifice quality fishing time to drill lots of little holes in it and sink the bastard. Make a nice artificial wreck. You're old enough to remember the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior.........? Tinker 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tinker 1,645 Posted February 14, 2015 Report Share Posted February 14, 2015 Yeah I remember that, was supposed to be French divers but never confirmed for memory. Can't remember why it was bombed, just that the suspects were extremely pissed off about something. Bit like we all feel about marine parks and NTZs. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tacklebags 404 Posted February 14, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2015 It's a topic i have mixed feelings about. I am sure AFMA will heavily scrutinize this venture. At 7.5 % of the total biomass against the prolific breeding capacity of small pelagics it should be fine. AFMA's on board invidulators just need to ensure they move about to avoid localized depletion. Small pelagic species are well supported by the iron rich waters of the East Australian current thanks to dust blowing off central Australian deserts. Been reading Facebook on this topic. Noted the alarmists are already going off with irrelevant fearmongering. Recfishsa said they have been in talks with ARFF but ARRF appear to have a more and more anti commercial element about them these days. Tonyb was the first poster to the article on their page and had me shaking my head again. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tacklebags 404 Posted February 14, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2015 Apologies he was the second poster to the topic. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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