Tag Archives: Williamtown RAAF base
Williamtown toxic truth: Hunter River fishing bans lifted
The Hunter’s prawn trawlers went back to work this week for the first time since agreeing to an indefinite ban on working the Hunter River in November last year. The ban – dubbed a gentleman’s agreement – came as a result of contamination from the Williamtown RAAF Base. It followed state government bans on fishing in Fullerton Cove and the upper Tilligerry Creek, and was seen as necessary to protect the region’s seafood reputation. Then in October this year, to the surprise of a lot of fishers, the bans were lifted. The Department of Primary Industries issued a statement saying the public could “be confident that seafood for sale is safe to eat”, and the Newcastle Fishing Cooperative began accepting local produce again. “We were shocked,” Hewitt says on his trawler, named Junior. “We turned up to that meeting thinking, you know, they were going tell us whether or not they would buy our boats off us. “Then the first thing the DPI guy said was ‘full opening of the river from this date’. “Everyone just stayed quiet. It was unreal. Even all the crazy fishermen who I thought would abuse them just said nothing.” Nice photo gallery, Read the rest here 19:50
Commercial fishing closures in Port Stephens will be lifted
The closures were put in place in September last year after it was revealed that toxic fire fighting foam used at the nearby Williamtown RAAF Base had for years been contaminating the surrounding environment. Similar voluntary bans were put in place in the Hunter River. On Tuesday the deputy director of primary industries, Geoff Allan, said the closures would be lifted after advice provided by the Williamtown Contamination Expert Panel. “Reopening Tilligerry Creek and Fullerton Cove to both commercial and recreational fishers was recommended by the Williamtown Expert Panel and follows the Commonwealth’s Human Health Risk Assessment and the enHealth Guideline review,” Dr Allan said in a statement. “These fishing closures have been in place since September 2015 and were implemented while testing and analysis of seafood in the vicinity was undertaken, to determine the level of impact in the Hunter and Port Stephens waterways.” An ongoing restriction will be placed on dusky flathead caught in the Hunter River for commercial fishers. “The public can be confident that seafood for sale is safe to eat,” he said. Read the rest here 19:37
Calls for goodwill payments to be made for fishermen affected by Williamtown toxic leak
The head of the Newcastle Commercial Fishermen’s Co-op is calling on the Department of Defence to immediately make goodwill payments to local fishermen affected by the chemical contamination originating from the Williamtown RAAF base. It has been about two months since the NSW Environment Protection Authority warned that chemicals — perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) — which were historically used in fire fighting foam at the RAAF base, had been found in surface water, groundwater and some fish species in nearby waterways. Read the rest here 08:10
