THE NSW government’s proposed fishing industry reforms are causing some dissent among commercial fishers.
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“Fisheries management has gone insane, there’s no other way to describe it,” Coalition of NSW Catchers Groups, Associations and Individuals vice-president Paul Sullivan said.
He said the new reforms would cost the state’s fishermen 500 jobs, cutting the current number in half.
Mr Sullivan said the worst-hit areas would be from the Queensland border to Coffs Harbour and from Sydney to the Victorian border.
Bermagui Fishermen’s Co-op chairman Rocky Lagana said he did not think local fishermen’s jobs were at risk under the reforms.
However, he was concerned fishermen will have to go out and buy more shares to stay in the industry, and as Bermagui’s fishing industry was only small in terms of numbers, he was worried about how much smaller they would get.
Mr Lagana also said lake fishers “are being really hard done by” as they could have their licences changed to only allow them to fish for 62 days a year.
“[The NSW government is] leaving the ocean fishers alone so they are happy, while others like the estuary fishers get decimated, and then they will come back at ocean track and line,” Mr Sullivan said.
“I can see where they are going, they are trying to take the sting out of the industry’s response.”
The last “big shake up” to the Bermagui industry was about seven years ago when the Batemans Marine Park opened, Mr Lagana said.
“We’ve already been through the hard times,” he said.
“It’s not going to be that the co-op will have to close their doors due to these reforms.”
Mr Lagana said the area around Bermagui was “quite comfortable” in terms of fish stocks.
The main lake Bermagui’s commercial fishermen use is Wallaga, and to lesser extents Corunna and Wapengo.
Last year, there were 42 different suppliers who used the Bermagui Fishermen’s Co-op facilities.
Only 10 per cent of the co-op produce stays in the area from Batemans Bay to Merimbula, with other supplies going to the Sydney Fish Market and to Melbourne.
The co-op also has a tuna fleet that ships fish to Japan.
“The industry was calling for some sort of reform, the financial viability of it was going nowhere,” Mr Lagana said.
“I would like to see the industry being run primarily for the industry and not for the boats.
“I think that’s been the problem in the past with the state government’s reforms.
“[But] I think this government is trying to address the problems which we have.”
Stakeholders can make submissions on the Structural Adjustment Review Committee Draft Recommendations until August 31. For more information, visit www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fisheries/commercial/reform/sarc-draft-recommendations.