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Fisheries ignores calls for Illawarra net ban

BUREAUCRATS in NSW Fisheries are ignoring community concerns about commercial exploitation of a small South Coast estuary system despite data revealing almost 6 million fish have been netted from its waters in the past 15 years.

Anglers concerned about declining fish numbers in Lake Illawarra, south of Wollongong, have started an online petition (see HERE for details).

The petition calls for the Government to allow funds from the recreational fishing fee paid by anglers in NSW to buy-out the 34 commercial netters currently working the lake and to declare it a recreational fishing haven.

At the time of writing, 846 signatures had been submitted, meaning 154 more were needed before the petition could be presented to the NSW Legislative Assembly.

The petition was instigated because concerned local anglers are worried that the intensive commercial exploitation of this relatively small waterway – Lake Illawarra is only 36 sq km in size – is not sustainable.

“A small estuary such as Lake Illawarra … cannot sustain the netting onslaught of 34 commercial fishing licence holders,” the petition says.

“The environmental and economic stakes that this lake brings to the Illawarra are immeasurable, however, the activities of an extremely large number of commercial fishermen does not present a sustainable future for Lake Illawarra and the local environs.”

Data released to Fisho by NSW Fisheries this week reveals a total of almost 3000 tonnes of fish have been removed by the netters over the past 15 years. It’s understood most of the catch includes popular recreational species such as bream, flathead, blackfish, whiting, sand crabs and prawns.

The Fisheries data shows the commercial catches have varied on an annual basis from about 220 tonnes down to roughly 130 tonnes. The average catch is about 193 tonnes per year.

Based on an average weight of 500 grams per fish caught, this equates to about 6 million fish being removed from the system over the past 15 years, or roughly 400,00 per year.

Local anglers have told Fisho that it is becoming increasingly difficult to find or catch fish in the lake due to the intensive netting pressure.

Ian “Big E” Phillips, an Illawarra local who has fished the lake for the past 40 years, said the decline of fish stocks in the past decade has been “absolutely massive”.

“It’s got to the stage now that most anglers are hard pressed to catch a legal fish. You used to be able to quite easily catch a feed of whiting or go out and lure fish for big bream but not any more. There has been a massive decline in stocks of fish like bream, flathead and whiting – the average fisho really would have an uphill battle trying to get a decent bite, let alone actually catch a decent fish.

“The relentless netting has undoubtedly had a huge impact on this fishery. Most local anglers are forced to either travel north to the Georges River or Botany Bay or south to St Georges Basin. They know they are wasting their time in Lake Illawarra.”

A spokesman from Keep Australia Fishing, the national advocacy organisation representing the angling sector, said the Lake Illawarra controversy was being mirrored in other areas such as Geelong in Victoria, Coila in southern NSW and Hervey Bay in Queensland.

inline_120_https://yaffa-cdn.s3.amazonaws.com/fishing/images/dmImage/SourceImage/Illawarra 550.jpg

Local tournament angler Anthony Kaslow shows the potential of the Lake Illawarra fishery with a solid 40cm bream…

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…and a more typical catch…

While commercial catch rates in inshore fisheries had remained fairly stable, it was “inevitable” that major collapses would occur if intensive netting, especially in small systems, is allowed to continue, KAF spokesman Scott Mitchell said.

“You can’t expect to remove hundreds of tonnes of fish from a tiny waterway like Lake Illawarra like this for ever,” Mitchell, a former resident of Lake Illawarra who now lives in Hervey Bay, told Fisho today.

“The biomass of fish in the lake is obviously getting smaller and smaller. At this stage local experts report that it’s near impossible to catch a decent fish via recreational methods.

“It’s obvious that the netters can still get their catches because nets are very effective. But sooner or later the last few fish will be netted and then the entire fishery will totally collapse. That’s what has happened in other fisheries and it’ll happen with this one.

“The fact is, state Fisheries departments doesn’t really know how many fish are in places Lake Illawarra. It’s obvious they’re not ‘managing’ the fishery – they’re just letting things go along until it all falls apart and then they’ll run around and try and fix it.

“In KAF’s view, NSW Fisheries Minister Katrina Hodgkinson should take the initiative on this Lake Illawarra issue. The Minister should immediately organise talks with local anglers and the commercial operators and come up with a fairer, more equitable and more sustainable solution to this problem. If she relies on her department, the fishery will collapse, businesses will go bust and opportunities will be lost,” Mitchell said.

Despite obvious community support, an official spokesperson from NSW Fisheries has appeared to rule out Lake Illawarra becoming a recreational fishing haven.

“The Government is committed to a viable and sustainable commercial fishing industry that supplies the community with fresh local seafood,” the Fisheries official said.

“There are no immediate plans to create additional recreational fishing havens or change fishing arrangements in the existing havens.”

Commercial fishing in the Lake Illawarra is a component of the NSW Estuary General Fishery, the Fisheries official told Fisho this week.

According to the information received from NSW Fisheries, the lake is one of 12 estuarine systems open to some form of commercial fishing in the South Coast region, known as region 6. A total of 63 commercial fishing businesses are allowed to work this region, with 34 currently operating in Lake Illawarra.

Well-known tournament angler Anthony Kaslow, who lives near Lake Illawarra, said the lake had “huge potential to become a major sportfishery”.

“I’ve fished the lake for 10 years and have really noticed a sharp decline in the number and quality of fish available. If I catch two bream then that’s as good as it gets. But if I travel down to St Georges Basin I can catch a dozen or more. The difference between the two fisheries is amazing. Being a net-free rec fishing haven, the Basin is a really healthy and abundant fishery; Lake Illawarra, on the other hand, is pretty much devoid of life.”

The lack of fish available to anglers was having a serious impact on the local economy. Both Kaslow and Phillips told Fisho that the area could be a significant drawcard for fishing tourism, especially from nearby Wollongong and Sydney.

“The lake has redeveloped foreshores, good ramps, easy access and is safe for families. But no-one will bother coming here because the fishing is so poor. It’s a bit of a joke that a few commercial fishing businesses can profit from a public resource while denying hundreds of thousands of locals and visitors, plus business that depend on tourism and the rec fishing dollar, the right to sustainably enjoy the natural environment,” Phillips said.

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