ANGLER protest about plans to sanction the slaughter of thousands of tonnes of billfish and tuna by the east coast long-line fleet has reached the ears of the federal politicians who control the fishery.
Mike Kelly, the parliamentary secretary for fisheries, is reviewing the decision made by the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) to disregard scientific advice and allow the long-line fleet to catch unsustainable numbers of tuna, marlin and swordfish.
Fisho contacted Dr Kelly’s office this morning and was told that he is looking at the processes behind the AFMA decision to allow almost 10,000 tonnes of yellowfin, bigeye, swordfish, striped marlin and albacore to be killed by commercial operators over the next 12 months.
The AFMA proposal, if accepted by Dr Kelly and Fisheries Minister Senator Joe Ludwig, means that commercial operators will be allowed almost 4000 tonnes more than is recommended by government scientists as a sustainable fishery.
Dr Kelly’s office said he was aware of the issue and would release official comments either late today or tomorrow morning.
Political pundits involved in the campaign to halt the gamefish slaughter say this development is “encouraging”.
“What has happened is that we have got the issue away from the (AFMA) bureaucrats and placed it with the politicians,” one senior source told Fisho. “This doesn’t mean the government will actually do anything but the fact that we’ve brought it to their attention, and that they are looking at it, is encouraging.”
Fishing World published details of the planned AFMA slaughter online late last week, with the result being a tide of anger and protest by anglers sickened by the commercial exploitation of iconic gamefish species.
“It seems apparent that protests by fishos have resulted in federal politicians becoming aware that we are not happy about this unsustainable and greedy plan to decimate our gamefish stocks,” said Fishing World publisher and editor Jim Harnwell.
“I’d like to thank all the fishos out there who have taken the time to send protests into the federal government.
“Your actions in this regard are important and I think they will make a difference. I have no idea at this stage if we will be able to stop this planned slaughter of our tuna and marlin stocks but now at least the issue is being looked at by the blokes who make the decisions, not just faceless bureaucrats.”
Fishing World has organised a protest letter, which can be downloaded HERE and sent to Mr Kelly and Senator Ludwig.
“If you haven’t sent this letter, or one that you’ve written yourself, it’s important that you do so as soon as possible,” Harnwell said.
“We need to ensure Dr Kelly and Senator Ludwig are fully aware of just how angry and disappointed we are that the federal government would even think about allowing the unsustainable slaughter of important and valuable recreational gamefish.”
The original news article breaking the story about the planned slaughter, plus op-ed pieces and reader comments, can be viewed by clicking HERE and HERE.
For more developments about this issue, stay tuned to fishingworld.com.au. We’ll publish Dr Kelly’s comments about what the federal government plans to do about the AFMA long-line decision as soon as we get them.
