AS has been comprehensivley reported in recent months, rec fishers have been up in arms over the imminent arrival of the world’s second-largest super trawler the FV Margiris into Australian waters.
The trawler will targeting thousands of tonnes of baitfish in waters stretching from NSW to Western Australia.
The magnitude of the operation has sparked fears it will decimate fish stocks and have long term detrimental effects on the fishery and other marine life that rely on the baitfish as their prime food source.
The company bringing the FV Margiris into Austrlaia, Seafish Tasmania says it will be fishing sustainably. The Australian Fishing Management Authority AFMA says the size of the trawler’s quota has been set according to sound science.
So will the FV Margiris devastate the fishery, or will its catch be a drop in the ocean as some in the commercial fishing scetor are claiming? The following ABC News Online report takes a look at all the arguments for and against the trawler.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-07-20/super-trawler-is-it-good-or-bad-for-tasmania/4145084
