2 days ago
Queensland commercial fishing industry 'open for business' as investment warnings lifted
The Queensland government has declared the state is "open for business" when it comes to commercial fishing, lifting investment warnings from every fishery in the state.
Investment warnings have served as a buyer-beware label in some areas for more than a decade, creating industry uncertainty by warning that regulation changes could affect the financial viability of fishing businesses.
Townsville-based commercial fisher Nathan Rynn said lifting the warnings was the "biggest announcement" he had seen in his 20 years in the industry.
"Ever since I've been a commercial fisher here, there's been investment warnings on our inshore fishery, and it means no security and it can all be stripped away with a stroke of a pen," he said.
"When I went to the bank to go and get money for different quotas and licences, they didn't recognise what I already had in the fishery as an investment because of that warning.
Queensland Seafood Industry Association executive officer David Bobbermen said he was "ecstatic" as lifting the warnings would give the industry a "renewed purpose".
"This is lifting the shackles off the wild-caught seafood industry," Mr Bobbermen said.
"[Lifting the warning] will encourage young people to enter the fishery and do so with confidence."
Mr Bobbermen said he hoped many unused licences would be used again, leading to more local seafood on supermarket shelves.
"Everyone will start to see, hopefully, sustainably, locally caught seafood on their shelves," he said.
"It won't be straight away. It will take a couple of years, no doubt, but it will happen."
Primary Industries Minister Tony Perrett said the decision would help grow the industry, which generated $354 million a year.
Australian Marine Conservation Society's Great Barrier Reef campaign manager, Simon Miller, said he hoped the change would mean more innovation and modernisation in the industry to improve sustainable fishing practices.
He said while fish stocks for a number of species caught in Queensland had returned to sustainable levels, it was not the case for all of them.
"We need to maintain that ambition that we're trying to make sure we've got plenty of fish in the sea for both commercial and recreational fishers to catch, but also to maintain that function in the ecosystem," Mr Miller said.
Mr Perrett said 93 per cent of Queensland's fishing stocks had been identified as sustainable.
"The other ones, we're working through at the moment and we're seeing some positive results," he said.
Mr Perrett said plans to ban gillnet fishing from the Great Barrier Reef by 2027 had not changed.
"The NX licences, those interim licences were put in place, that all stays the same," he said.
For Mr Bobbermen, the announcement was the first step in regaining confidence in the industry.
"This is the first brick in a big wall that needs to be rebuilt, so it's just the first step," he said.
