Tag Archives: Queensland
The brutal business of crabbing in Gladstone
The mud crabs in the Gladstone region are the best in Queensland and some local crabbers aren’t afraid of fighting, stealing, threatening and ramming each others’ boats to catch them. With no full-time boating and fisheries patrol officers in Gladstone now the crabbers sometimes have to resort to intimidation to lay claim to the estuaries and waterways where the crabs are. The small commercial crabbing community is awash with rumours, finger pointing and little trust over stealing of crabs, crab pots and cutting floats. Audio, read the rest here 19:16
Tensions reach boiling point over net-free fishing zones
Tensions have reached boiling point in some fishing grounds along the Queensland coast, with one industry representative alleging guns have been drawn between commercial operators. “The Fisheries [Department] actually had to go to a place called Stanage Bay … and talk to some commercial operators up there because of movement of fishermen from one area to another; they’re actually starting to draw guns on each other,” Rockhampton fisherman and Queensland Seafood Industry Association director David Swindells said. “They’ve got rifles out threatening to shoot each other. These people are frightened of losing their livelihoods, so they’ve virtually taken matters into their own hands.” Read the rest here 08:24
Net-free fishing zones will cost jobs, push up prices: commercial fishermen
A bitter dispute has broken out between Queensland’s commercial and recreational fishers over the Government’s plan to introduce net-free zones. From November 1, commercial net fishers will no longer be able to operate in three areas, including one off the Cairns coastline, one in waters north of Mackay, and the largest zone between Keppel Bay and the Fitzroy River in central Queensland. “It could put in this area 60 to 70 people put of work – that doesn’t include associated industries like wholesalers or ice sales or rope supplies,”,,, Read the rest here 09:06
I like this guy! Stephen Georgouras is selling Shark Fins from legally caught sharks
Cairns Ocean Products has been selling sun-dried shark fin, caught legally by local commercial fishermen, for the past two months, at $25.50/kg. In Queensland, fishers can cut the fins off sharks at sea, as long as they return to shore with an acceptable ratio of shark fins to shark meat. Cairns Ocean Products owner Stephen Georgouras said he was merely trying to onsell the product for local fishermen. “This business about sharks being endangered on our coastline here is unfounded.” Read the rest here 17:38
