Tag Archives: commercial fishing reforms
Commercial fishing reforms come into play across South Australia
South Australia’s much-anticipated $24.5 million reform of the marine scalefish fishery officially went into effect on July 1. The state government says changes will strengthen the long-term financial and ecological sustainability of the commercial fishing industry. Changes include a trading system where fishers can exchange and bid for quotas to catch certain species, as well as new zones and other regulatory changes. The changes have not come without some disruption, as the government bought out licence holders. For example, as many as half of Kangaroo Island’s commercial marine scale fishermen decided to surrender their licences. Late last year, applications for nearly 130 commercial fishing licence surrenders had been received in the state government’s reform of the marine scalefish fishery. >click to read< 07:44
‘Nothing good in this reform’ – Controversial fishing reforms in NSW – More debt, less certainty
A long-awaited report has found the New South Wales Government’s sweeping fishing industry reforms, which were supposed to solve major structural problems, have plunged fishermen into debt and business insecurity. The number of commercial fishermen dropped from a high of 3,500 in the 1980s to 1,100 prior to the reforms, and 300 have left since. In 2016, the NSW Government tried to address the overallocation of fishing licences during the 1990s and early 2000s, to prevent overfishing, and restore the sector to profit. The Business Adjustment Package (BAP) was designed to 
help inactive or older fishermen retire their licences. >click to read< 12:54
A page with a lot of posts on the NSW Government Fishery Reforms, such as Catch Shares New South Wales Style – Half the Small Boat Fishermen will disappear, >click to read<
Thirteen year old girl’s heartfelt plea in front of NSW Parliament House to save NSW fishing industry
A thirteen year old girl has fronted a packed room in NSW Parliament House to urge the government to rethink commercial fishing reforms which she said were destroying her family’s livelihood. Maddison Blanch spoke before a meeting of fishing professionals, industry leaders and politicians on Wednesday, although no one from the Liberal or National parties attended. She told the crowd her third-generation fisher father, Phillip Blanch, had been hit hard by a scheme forcing him to buy back his right to work. “My father, like the majority of fishers in NSW, goes to work rain, hail or shine,” she said. “My dad goes to work and provides Australia with fresh Aussie seafood and brings an income home for his family just like every other Aussie dad. “My dad loves what he does but, because of reforms, my dad needs to buy more shares to continue to work as he does now, for 2017. “So basically he needs to buy back his job, like most fishers.” Ms Blanch said her father could not buy shares because no one was selling them, and he should not have to take out a loan to be able to afford to do his own job. Read the story here 09:01
