Gillnet ban: Job losses, boats tied to the dock as ban kicks in
Jobs are being lost and people with fishing licences have been left on dry land as the fallout from the state government’s net ban becomes reality.
Townsville
Don't miss out on the headlines from Townsville. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Jobs are being lost and people with fishing licences have been left on dry land as the fallout from the state government’s net ban becomes reality.
About 240 Queensland gillnet licences were wiped out last year; replaced by 40 strict ‘NX’ licences.
But North Queensland fishmongers say as of February 1 and the start of barramundi season, some of those fishers with an NX licence have not left the dock over confusion about needing a camera or observer on board.
Cleveland Bay Seafood owner operator Gordon Allan said he was forced to let two retail staff go because there’s less catch and work for them, and the four other fish shops in town would be in the same boat.
“A bloke in Sydney has more chance of catching or having a fresh barra than a person in Townsville, that we catch in this area.”
Cleveland Bay Seafood’s turnover had been cut 20 to 30 per cent because of the loss of barramundi and the blue salmon, grunters and mackerel caught with the barra.
Those species were cheaper and you could feed a family of five for less than $30, he said.
“We’ve got restaurants that are screaming for local produce so they can write their menus,” Mr Allan said.
Gillnet fishing, the use of long, rectangular nets used to catch fish in the moving tide, represented 2.6 per cent of the east coast wild-caught seafood harvest.
Environmental groups said the ban was a win for the Great Barrier Reef, although the nets were used in North Queensland around river mouths, far from the Reef.
Of the 40 NX licences on offer, 22 have been issued, and Queensland Fisheries says it is working with commercial fishers who have not met approval criteria.
But Hinchinbrook MP Nick Dametto said the state government gutted the industry in a “rushed” decision ahead of October’s election.
“The state government have rushed this through and what we have now, is the start of the barra season’s kicked off and there was no wild local-barra sitting on any of our shelves.”
An NX licence holder told Mr Dametto he was unsure if his boat needed a camera, or an observer, and the fisherman was not out on the water because of the “ambiguous” rules, the Hinchinbrook MP claimed.
“Restaurateurs are crying out across Townsville, saying ‘this is the product that we expected to sell’,” Mr Dametto said.
Fisheries Minister Mark Furner said the ban was not political.
“Mr Dametto’s claims are simply old fish tales. These measures are about a sustainable future for the industry, not an election.”
The rules for an NX licence are in a 17-page booklet on the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries’ website.
The ban was previously categorised as a tough but necessary step by Mr Furner.
Mr Dametto criticised the LNP as well, and said the opposition had no alternative policy.
MR Perrett said in parliament last year the ban would increase the price of seafood and lead to more imports, with detrimental effects felt across tourism and hospitality.
The Bulletin understands LNP’s shadow cabinet will consider its policy in the coming weeks.
More Coverage
Originally published as Gillnet ban: Job losses, boats tied to the dock as ban kicks in
‘Where are people going to go after this’: Family forced to shelter in shop after rental flooded
The mother of a family forced to evacuate their Hinchinbrook home as it filled with sewage-contaminated floodwaters says the disaster has pushed the critical housing crisis beyond breaking point.
‘Still paradise’: Waterlogged Groper Creek prepares to soldier on
Residents of Groper Creek are still grappling with the flooding that’s inundated the region, but they wouldn’t trade their slice of paradise for anything else.