Hervey Bay scallops off menu due to harvesting ban

A heated debate has broken out over the State Government’s decision to ban scallop harvesting off much of the Queensland coast, with trawlers saying it will cost jobs, while another organisation said scallop populations were in “dire straits”.

Dan and Steph cooking up a storm on Torquay Beach with Hervey Bay Scallops.Photo: Alistair Brightman

Hervey Bay scallops will soon be off the menu, with trawlers banned from harvesting off much of the Queensland coast due to a steep decline in the species.

The delicacy is served in restaurants across the state and nation, but the number of scallops off the Queensland coast are believed to be dwindling, with a stock assessment showing the spawning biomass had dropped to 12 per cent from 17 per cent in 2019.

Trawlers have been banned from harvesting scallops between Hervey Bay and Mackay to help the population recover.

The closure of the harvesting regions has been hotly debated, with trawler operators saying it will have a significant impact on the industry and jobs.

Hervey Bay scallops and corn chowder at the Lion Hotel, North Adelaide

Hervey Bay trawler operator Stephen Murphy said he believed the biomass assessment by Queensland Fisheries “lacked detail”.

He said if the State Government’s biomass model had included Fraser Island and Noosa there would probably be above 20 per cent.

But some weren’t satisfied that enough action was being taken.

Australian Marine Conservation Society spokesman Simon Miller said the scallop stock in Queensland was in “dire straits” and had been overfished to dangerously low levels.

“If this was a koala, there would be widespread outcry and a push for it to be fully protected,” he said.

“Continued scallop fishing in this area will at best slow down the recovery of this perilously overfished species and may stop it from recovering altogether.”

Mr Miller said the State Government had tried to reduce the fishing pressure on the species in the last few years, but it hadn’t been enough.

Mr Miller criticised the decision to allow continued harvesting near the Sunshine Coast and Moreton Bay.

Tia Rose and Scott Drier from Boat Harbour Fisheries showing off Hervey Bay's world famous scallops.

“The Queensland Government needed to close all regions to scallop fishing to really support its recovery,” he said.

The State Government has said scallop fisheries will reopen one a biomass level of 30 per cent is reached.

Mr Murphy said estimates on how long that would take ranged from a few years to as long as 16 years.

Agriculture and Fisheries Minister Mark Furner said it depended on the ability of the saucer scallop to mature and grow.

“It’s subject to weather and many environmental pressures, but hopefully we’ll see a turnaround at some stage,” he said.

Hervey Bay’s scallops are a staple at Fraser Coast restaurants, including new seafood restaurant Banksia and Cafe Baelena, and are a favourite of the city’s celebrity chefs, My Kitchen Rules winners Dan and Steph Mulheron.

Hervey Bay’s Beach House Hotel owner Janet Persal said the scallops were a popular part of their menu.

She said she’d had a visitor from Sydney comment on having them on a restaurant at home.

“They’re pretty well-known everywhere,” she said.

“No doubt it will affect a lot of restaurants.”

Ms Persal said while it was a shame that Hervey Bay scallops wouldn’t be available for a time, it was better than losing the delicacy completely.

“By the same token, we don’t want them to go off the menu totally,” she said.

“If this is what it takes to get stocks back, so be it.”