Tag Archives: New South Wales
Illegal mud crab fishermen targeted as price reaches $70 a kilogram
Authorities warn of stern action against those caught illegally catching mud crabs in New South Wales. With the crustaceans selling at $70 a kilogram, it is proving a lucrative crime for those offloading onto the black market. The NSW Department of Primary Industries’ director of fisheries compliance Patrick Tully said the area of most concern was unlicensed fishermen. “It’s illegal, unregulated and unreported,” he said. “We’re concerned that there are people using too many crab traps, not marking them so they can’t be found, and then selling them on what’s essentially the black market.” “At $70 a kilo one crab could be more than $70, they can grow to quite big animals. “It’s what we used to call the ‘shamateur’ — not a licensed fisherman, not really a recreational fisherman, just that person in the middle who is exploiting the resource at the expense of others.” Read the story here 15:34
New South Wales mock share-auction website crashes!
ABOUT 90 fishers who took time off to learn how to stay in the changing industry have been left with no help due to a crashing website. The website, set up to train fishers how to buy and sell fishing rights in an upcoming New South Wales-wide shares auction, went offline between 9am and 1pm on Monday. It was meant to be the website’s first day online. Upper house Labor MP Mick Veitch said the crash was indicative of “continuing errors in the implementation of the commercial fishing restructure”. Primary Industries Minister Niall Blair told parliament fishers were still able to get phone help. He said about 450 fishers were registered for the mock share-auction stage, but most of the industry would not need to take part. The online failure follows a troubled training session branded a shambles by industry figures. Local fishers came away saying they left the session disappointed, angrier, dismayed, with more questions than when they came. Read the rest here 10:53
Fisherman to join shark fight as contractors to deploy drumlines
The Baird government will have to employ contractors, likely to be fishermen
to carry out its plan to deploy 100 “smart” drumlines as it grapples with preventing more shark attacks. Resisting calls for shark nets to be installed in NSW north coast waters that have suffered a spate of attacks in the past 18 months, the government instead announced an extra 85 smart drumlines will be installed, particularly around Ballina. South Cross University marine biologist Danny Bucher said he was concerned about how commercial fishermen would handle the sharks. “The tradition of how to handle a fish, for a fisherman, is quite different to how you handle a fish as a scientist. For me to actually catch a fish for research purposes, I have to do a 14-page ethics-committee approval. It’s quite a different matter for a fisherman,” Dr Bucher said. “Those fisherman would have to be trained.” (lol) Read the story here 09:04
Federal Government has signalled it would consider a shark cull on the NSW north coast
As shark attack victim Cooper Allen recovers in Lismore Hospital, the Federal Government has signaled it would consider a shark cull on the NSW north coast. Federal Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg’s statement comes as the State Government announces a further three- month trial of shark-spotting drones and additional drum lines for the area. He said he was open to proposals for a cull of great white sharks. Culling great whites would need federal approval because they are a vulnerable species. Read the rest here 09:26
New South Wales Fishers aren’t hooked by latest govt catch share plan
Fishers claim a “preview” share trading period is the New South Wales Government’s attempt to avoid admitting it does not understand its own commercial fishing law reforms. Anyone wishing to continue their job will be forced to buy back their rights under an industry-wide restructuring aimed at keeping fisheries sustainable. The cut-off date for fishers has now been extended to December2. Primary Industries Minister Niall Blair last week admitted his department could not explain what shares would be available and how much they would cost. The government has opened up a “preview period” to help fishers wrap their heads around what is coming – a dry run allowing them to trade mock shares without any actual money changing hands. Clarence River Fishermen’s Co-operative general manager Danielle Adams welcomed the time extension but said the government had still failed to explain what the future held for fishers. Read the story here 20:00
New South Wales: King Prawn prices drop as fishermen haul in record catches off Coffs Coast
Fishermen off the Coffs Coast in northern New South Wales are reporting record catches of the iconic eastern king prawn. The Coffs Harbour Fishermen’s Co-operative’s seafood operations manager Shane Geary said he had never seen anything like it. “The last week or two, it’s probably been the biggest I’ve seen it in the 26 years I’ve been at the fish co-op,” he said. “Leading up to the full moon, we had some big catches; some of the boats there, not last night but the night before, had up to two tonne in the one night. “That’s some pretty big catches.”He said stocks were plentiful and the weather had been ideal. “We’re really pumping out a lot of prawns at the moment, both regionally and into Sydney,” Mr Geary said. “The prices have been fantastic. We’ve been retailing for around about $18 which we haven’t done for quite a long time. Read the rest here 17:18
Catch Shares: Commercial fishers on Far South Coast want action on restructure
The restructure of the NSW commercial fishing industry is reaching an important milestone with companies and individuals having until tomorrow to decide on whether they take a $20,000 buy-out to exit the industry. NSW Labor called on the State Primary Industries Minister to suspend the restructure process until more information is on the table to assist fishers in making the right decision for themselves, their families, and for the sustainability of the industry in general. But Bermagui Fishermen’s Cooperative managing director Rocky Lagana was of the opposite view and said the three-year restructure process needed to reach a conclusion to afford those who wanted to remain some certainty. Shadow Minister for Primary Industries Mick Veitch however called it policy-on-the-run and said a hastily cobbled together Ministerial press release the day after Labor’s call for a suspension made a few concessions without addressing the real concerns – which are the need for more information, more time and the need to hit the pause button. Read the story here 10:26
Catch Shares New South Wales Style – Half the Small Boat Fishermen will disappear
MORE than half of the Coast’s 100 commercial fishers are expected to be cut adrift after the state government released its industry reforms last week. Dane Van Der Neut, president of the NSW Wild Caught Fishers Coalition, said the worst fears of local commercial fishers were realised in the Baird Government’s bid to overhaul the $90 million industry. “We’ll now lose over half our fleet, from Tuggerah Lake to the Hawkesbury, because the government wants to corporatise the industry, make all shares equal, and price out the smaller operators,” Patonga-based Mr Van Der Neut said. Terrigal state Liberal MP Adam Crouch hailed the changes as a “new era” for commercial fishing. Read the rest here 08:16
