Anglers demand Gulf St Vincent commercial net fishing ban to protect fish stocks

COMMERCIAL fishing in Gulf St Vincent will be banned to help restore stocks of SA’s favourite fish, if a group representing recreational fishermen gets its way.

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BANNING commercial net fishing in Gulf St Vincent is the only way to restore stocks of SA’s fish favourites, a group representing recreational fishers claims.

RecFish SA, representing the state’s 277,000 recreational fishers, has launched a policy agenda, “Making SA A Great Place to Fish Again”, ahead of the March 2018 state election, hoping to grab the attention of politicians.

The statewide campaign, supported by a petition, seeks to remove nets and longlines from the Gulf.

RecFish SA executive director, Danny Simpson, told The Advertiser that only an outright ban on netting and longlines could begin to restore declining stocks of king george whiting, snapper and garfish.

“We need to make some smart decisions about how we halt the decline of key fish stocks in SA waters,” Mr Simpson said.

“Garfish stocks in the gulf have been overfished by netting since 2005, yet the practice continues with little attempt to rein it in.

“We urgently need to curtail destructive industrial fishing practices and tackling netting and long-lining in the Gulf is a good first step.”

Recreational angler Joshua Quinn with his son Cohen 3, fishing off Grange jetty. Picture AAP/Russell Millard

Mr Simpson said the evidence was convincing that netting in nursery areas has had a “terrible impact” on king george whiting, SA’s most popular fish.

And snapper stocks have also been heavily fished by a fleet of commercial fishers employing new longline techniques to target spawning areas.

“Sadly, SA is a very long way behind all other states and territories in recognising the value of recreational fishing,” he said.

Other RecFish SA initiatives looking to improve recreational fishing include: the opening of more reservoirs to recreational fishing, stocking Murray cod in the River Murray and creating a statewide network of recreational fishing havens.

Nathan Bicknell, executive director of the Marine Fishers Association, representing the interests of South Australia’s 300 commercial fishers, said a ban on netting would lead to increased prices.

“This is not an us-against-them issue and we are supportive of recreational fishing,” he said.

“But if you removed the efficient methods of fishing from professional operators, it will invariably increase cost of production, which will negatively influence the price and availability of local seafood.”

Mr Bicknell said only 3.6 per cent of GSV waters were licenced for netting by fishers, based mainly at Port Wakefield, Stansbury and Parham.

He said there was “ignorance” around the benefits of an industry that employs more than 500 people, directly and indirectly, and was worth an estimated $40 million in economic activity to the state.

“In the face of the scientific evidence, any suggestions that the haul net fishery is destructive and environmentally damaging is factually incorrect.” he added.

“This misconception is at best borne from ignorance and at worst perpetuated by misinformation.”