THE Australian Recreational Fishing Foundation (ARFF), the national organisation representing the interests of Australia’s recreational fishing community, has held discussions with the Small Pelagic Fishing Industry Association (SPFIA), to address concerns about the impact the 95m trawler Geelong Star will have on Australia’s small pelagic fishery (SPF).
The ARFF has tabled a proposal to SPFIA on its concerns and how it believes any impacts of industrial scale fishing of the SPF on recreational fishing can be minimised by managing where and when vessels fish and ongoing research into fishing the SPF on the impacts of recreational fishing – see proposal HERE.
The ARFF says its proposal recognises that the SPF is a very important fishery for Australia’s recreational fishers. What happens in the fishery can have impacts on Australia’s recreational fishers now and for the future – ARFF concerns include:
• The SPF covers a large proportion of Australia’s coastline including all of our major capital cities and regional centres, from Brisbane, south to Sydney and Hobart, across to Melbourne and Adelaide and Perth.
• The SPF covers some of Australia’s most iconic recreational fishing grounds.
• Under legislation for this fishery the Geelong Star can fish within three nautical miles of these population centres and iconic fishing locations at any time of the year.
• Small pelagic fish are a major food source within the marine food web that includes key recreational species such as southern bluefin tuna, yellowfin tuna, marlin and kingfish.
With recreational fishing in Australia generating an estimated $10 billion a year and creating tens of thousands of jobs, ARFF doesn’t want this put at risk and there is no reason that it should be.
The ARFF expects to reach an agreement with the SPFIA on these issues by the end of this week.
Fisho will keep you updated on any further developments.
