Anybody got any objections or are there any rules regarding putting up some info about the current state of play wrt the proposed ban on gillnets in some Qld zones?
Douglas
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Anybody got any objections or are there any rules regarding putting up some info about the current state of play wrt the proposed ban on gillnets in some Qld zones?
Douglas
Bit of explanation.
Many in the recreational area have been trying to get barramundi netting banned in the Fitzroy River for the last 30 years.
The commercial fishermen have managed to convince the Qld Govt not to do so for the last 30 years.
There was a state election at the end of January this year with the Labor Party elected to a minority Government.
A surprise announcement by Labor in the campaign was a policy to ban net in 3 Qld zones including the Fitzroy River.
Many people who have not voted Labor for 30yers did so on the basis of the policy. The local Labor rep in Rockhampton became Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries and wants to press ahead with the policy.
Commercial fishermen have been putting pressure on the Labor Govt not to go ahead and a couple of other Cabinet Ministers are reported as getting twitchy.
The state of play is that the Govt will probably lose the vote of commercial sector if it goes ahead. They will definitely lose the vote of recreational fishermen if they don't ( and lose office).
I'll wait before putting anything else up (there's more).
Thanks for the interesting post Doug. This is a very touchy issue for all parties concerned. If you weigh up the numbers, the recreational fishers certainly out number the commercial fishers, however the commercial fishery is a valued resource to the Queensland economy. I've never voted labour, in fact, I've never voted in 50 years until recently, but if labour would propose a ban on netting in recreational areas such as Teewah beach, Bribie Isalnd and North Stradbroke Island, I would be a big supporter. Especially when most of the fish netted on these beaches goes towards feeding marine life at our biggest tourist attractions.
Anything can happen when dealing or relying upon any politician.
Doug, we don't talk party politics on AA, but if there is an issue directly affecting our AA lifestyle by all means bring it up, but if things become too blindly political the post will be closed. Please continue.
I think rotational closed netting zones would do much more good.
Shut down .5 degree lattitude stretches of the coastline for 12 months.
Every 2 degree another .5 degree exclusion zone.
Every year on a set date the closed zone moves .5 degrees north.
Means every bit of the coastline gets a breather every four years.
Every 1 degree = approximately 111km so we are talking a 55.5km wide exclsion zone.
Thanks for replies fellas.
No its not a party political issue Didley. The explanation was simply to give background on how much of a surprise
Well, Ive been having trouble posting with letters and spaces being omitted all the time (only on this website) so I went to post and edit and fell foul of the edit timeout. Lost the lot! Start again.
The late policy announcement resulted in sufficient extra votes to just get the party within reach of minority government. I'm sure that result was coincidental and not intentional ( - tongue in cheek-).
Anyway, there were 4 zones nominated to be made net-free.
Fitzroy River and Capricorn Coast, Mackay Area at Armstrong Beach and Trinity Bay in Cairns. These 3 zones to be declared as soon as could be arranged.
The 4th was Moreton Bay at a later date if support was shown. (There ya go, Treasureman)
By law, adequate compensation must be paid to net licence holders.
The Seafood Industry Association has organised a "anti" campaign.
The amount of misinformation about some of the issues has been surprising with most being through ignorance. Feelings run high in small communities.
There is an e-petition to support the move in all zones drawn up by recreational clubs in the Rockhampton area at http://netsoutqld.org/
In fairness here is the link to the Seafood Industry Association website who oppose the move http://www.qsia.com.au/
The link to the Govt's policy is on the Nets Out page.
Feel free to support either or neither.
Douglas
pity they wouldn't put in hervey bay region with over 70 thousand rec fishoes a year visiting the area would only enhance its reputation
Stop press!!!
Because the e-petition is for Qld Govt only Qld voters can sign it I'm afraid.
Didn't know they did much netting apart from beaches mainly on Fraser Is. Is that what you mean Al?
Al49
There are already "stacks" of netting restrictions from Woodgate down Sandy Strait. the western side of Fraser Island and creeks flowing into Sandy Straits.
Its easy to look them up.
Here's one. FRW-069 covering Pt Vernon down to Urangan. There are many more for Hervey Bay already for different areas inside and outside beaches etc for Fraser I.
There are 106 more in respect of Qld waters for various reasons.
Schedule 1 Part 2 gives you a list, location and the closure information. Any marked as FRW gives u a map.
https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/L.../FisherR08.pdf (link to the Fisheries Regulation - 2008).