Agriculture Minister Adam Marshall refuses to ban fishing at Walsh Bay

Agriculture Minister Adam Marshall says he won’t bow to pressure to ban fishing off wharves at Walsh Bay near Barangaroo following outrage from waterfront apartment owners who say anglers are disturbing the peace outside their multimillion-dollar homes.

Agriculture Minister Adam Marshall says he won’t bow to pressure to ban fishing off wharves at Walsh Bay near Barangaroo following outrage from waterfront apartment owners who say anglers are disturbing the peace outside their multimillion-dollar homes.

Local residents in the surrounding apartments are trying to have fishing banned by local council. Picture, Sam Ruttyn

Speaking exclusively to The Daily Telegraph, Mr Marshall said residents were being “a bit precious” by trying to kill a 150-year-old Sydney Harbour tradition.

“I’d hate to think that just because a few people got on their high horse that live down there that we destroy the opportunity for the next generation of recreational anglers in Sydney to learn all about fishing,” he said.

It comes after the Walsh Bay Precinct Association called on the NSW government to ban all fishing off the wharves, called piers, on the basis that fishers were littering, hurling abuse and shining lights into apartments at 3am.

The Walsh Bay Precinct Association called on the NSW government to ban all fishing off the wharves. Picture, Sam Ruttyn

The Association also claimed people sitting at nearby cafes were scared about being caught by a hook as anglers cast their lines.

Mr Marshall said the NSW government would work closely with anglers by regularly sending staff from the Department of Primary Industries to check on the piers.

He said staff would produce multilingual brochures, erect new signage and even provide free chopping boards for bait and scaling fish to make anglers aware of their responsibilities.

“While there might be a couple of issues with a few individual anglers we’ll work with the anglers who go down there regularly,” he said.

“It will be a bit self policing in a way. If … someone comes down and starts making too much noise of an evening in particular, I’m sure everyone will tell them to keep their voices down.”

Tourism Minister Adam Marshall for NSW

While he acknowledged there might be some “legitimate concerns”, Mr Marshall said: “There’s absolutely no way we’re going to ban or stop people from fishing down there”.

Recreational Fishing Alliance of NSW president Stan Konstantaras previously accused rich property owners of waging a “class war” and condemned them for trying to kill a 150-year-old Sydney Harbour tradition.

“These people do not want to meet and talk with us and are rather selfish,” Mr Konstantaras said.

“I really think that property owners believe that because they pay millions for their apartments they deserve to not have to look at fishermen.

“It’s a class war, make no mistake.”