Fish dismisses claims barra stocks under threat

THE chairman of the NT Seafood Council has refuted claims that this year’s ‘metrey madness’ at Shady Camp could be harming the Territory’s barra stocks.

NT Seafood Council boss Rob Fish is one of the first tenants of the new North Australia Development Office which has opened on Darwin's Esplanade.

THE chairman of the NT Seafood Council has refuted claims that this year’s ‘metrey madness’ at Shady Camp could be harming the Territory’s barra stocks.

Hundreds of fishos have been lured by unprecedented fishing conditions, with children as young as three reeling in metre-long barra.

READ: FISHOS FLOCK TO SHADY CAMP

Professional fisherman Peter Mundy told the ABC Country Hour he was concerned amateur anglers were catching mature, egg-laying barra, threatening the conservation efforts made by the commercial fishing industry.

“The threat is that the amateurs will not accept any conservation measures,” he said.

Seafood Council chairman Rob Fish said Mr Mundy’s concerns were those of an individual, and had no basis in evidence.

“They’re certainly not (the views) of the industry,” he said.

“The reality is that the impact on the fishery from amateurs is very low,” he said, adding that the Territory’s fisheries were closely monitored and well managed.

“(Commercial fishermen) target a low proportion of the barramundi population, and even when you consider the impact of amateur fishermen on commercial operations, it almost couldn’t be measured scientifically,” he said.

Shady Camp on the Mary River was reopened to year-round fishing this year, after being closed-seasonally for more than two decades.

A government ban on commercial barramundi fishing was introduced on the Mary River in the 1980s in response to overfishing.