Northern Territory’s only commercial bait business battles to stay afloat
The Northern Territory’s only commercial sardine and squid fisherman says he is unlikely to catch them again, meaning the NT will now need to import most of its bait. Biagio Spinella from Austop Fisheries has spent nearly 30 years catching sardines and other bait fish from NT waters. Some of the pro duct was sold to local restaurants, but most of it got sold as bait to a wide range of businesses. Mr Spinella’s boat, the FV Angelina, sank off the Arnhem Land Coast last year. The fisherman has since run into problems while trying to reinvest because he cannot get a permanent fishing licence from the NT government. “There is no security for me because every year I need to fill in an application and they [NT government] give me a bit of paper that says I’m allowed to go and catch more sardines for another year,” he said. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 14:19
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