New Cape York group formed to cash in on fishing tourism
A new body has been created to “maximise” fish tourism revenue streams at Cape York, however how the plan aligns with a radical move to completely phase out gillnet fishing is not yet clear.
Cairns
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A new body has been created to “maximise” fish tourism revenue streams at Cape York, however how the plan aligns with a radical move to completely phase out gillnet fishing is not yet clear.
The new working group is a non-statutory advisory body which provides advice that will be considered alongside guidance and information from Fisheries Queensland, the Sustainable Fisheries Expert Panel and other government agencies.
Collectively, this will inform decisions on the management of fisheries and best practice fisheries management and implementation of the Queensland Sustainable Fisheries Strategy.
Lockhart River Shire Council chief executive, Dave Clarke, had been chosen to represent the Lockhart River area and is one of 11 members of the Cape York Special Fisheries Working Group.
“The overall objective is (improved) fisheries management,” he said.
“I do know in many jurisdictions such as Cairns, the amateur take exceeds the professional take and it’s probably more poorly understood than the professional take.
“Getting some strategies in place to better understand the amateur take and its impact on viability going forward is something we will focus on.”
Asked about what appears to be conflicting state government fishery policy, Mr Clarke hoped questions would be answered at the meeting of the newly formed group in Cairns next month.
A state government plan to invest $160m to create net-free zones in the northern third of the Great Barrier Reef and parts of the Gulf of Carpentaria has come under fire from commercial fishers who say the ban will cripple the wild caught seafood industry.
And from July 1 this year controversial new rules slashed a commercial Spanish mackerel take to 165 tonnes for the 2023 fishing season following a disputed stock count revealed the fishery had fallen to 17 per cent of the estimated original biomass.
Fisheries Minister Mark Furner announced the new working group from the Torres Strait on Wednesday.
“Charter fishing and fishing tourism are an important economic opportunity for Cape communities and this working group will help to identify those opportunities and make them real,” he said.
“These partnerships with Cape communities will play an important role in developing and maintaining fisheries in the region.”
Group members group represent Cape York First Nations communities, community development, the fishing industry, local government, non-government organisations and private enterprise.
Cook MP Cynthia Lui said the goal of the fisheries working group was to “maximise the value of our world-renowned Cape fisheries in a sustainable way.”
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Originally published as New Cape York group formed to cash in on fishing tourism
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