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Queensland fishermen demand consultation over commercial net-fishing ban


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Queensland fishermen demand consultation over commercial net-fishing ban
 
 

Updated

 

36 minutes agoWed 4 Mar 2015, 11:57am

Commercial fishermen are demanding the new State Labor Government consult them over a pre-election promise to ban net-fishing within three zones off the north Queensland coast.

Labor promised to establish the net-free zones near Cairns, north of Mackay and on the Capricorn Coast, with $10 million set aside to fund buyouts.

It will be an absolute disaster for our small businesses up and down the coast.

Nathan Rynn, commercial fisherman

 

Professional fisherman Nathan Rynn works in the waters off Mackay, and said if the proposal went ahead, he and many other small operators would suffer huge financial losses.

"It will be an absolute disaster for our small businesses up and down the coast," he said.

"We rely on the ocean to feed our families, so we need every area that is available to us at present.

"The previous Liberal Government has just had a $10 million commercial fishing licence buyout. They have got rid of 61 kilometres of large mesh gillnet off the east coast.

"I really don't think there is any need to shut any more area to commercial net fishing up and down the Queensland coast."

Mr Rynn said he was frustrated by a lack of consultation, and wanted the industry to be given an opportunity to outline its concerns.

"The commercial fishing industry has never directly been against the recreational fishers. We've always wanted to work together, we believe we can co-exist," he said.

 

"I would like to see the new minister Bill Byrne come out and have a chat to us. Let's work through a process here.

"We've got the [fishing industry] review done last year that needs to be made a public document. We need to see what an independent group has decided what should happen to our fisheries here in this state.

"It is nothing but a political move, a pre-election promise, and there has been no consultation and no thought put into it.

"I really think we can sit down and work together on this one and come up with some really modern ways to manage the fishery.

"If the recreational sector feels there needs to be some closures put in different areas, and so do the commercial, that's fine, but we need to trade those areas off."

ABC Rural hopes to speak with Fisheries Minister Bill Byrne about the proposed ban on the Queensland Country Hour from noon today.

Topics: rural, government-

 

 

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-03-04/commercial-fishermen-angered-by-lack-of-consultation-on-net-ban/6278852

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