By JOHN VAN KLAVEREN
ENVIRONMENTALISTS have hit out at a plan to base a controversial 95-metre floating fishing factory in Geelong.
The Independent reported last week that Seafish Tasmania planned to use the Geelong Star to take a quota of 16,500 tonnes from the small pelagic fishery, stretching from Queensland to Perth.
The boat replaces a 142m “super trawler” that the Federal Government banned last year amid overfishing fears.
Environment Tasmania marine coordinator Rebecca Hubbard said permitting the Geelong Star into Australian waters was “like doing the time warp”.
“It’s astounding. The similarities are amazing,” Ms Hubbard said.
“A huge freezer factory trawler is once again being encouraged to come all the way from Europe despite ongoing public opposition to the industrialisation of our fisheries and the threat this poses to our protected marine life.”
Ms Hubbard said federal parliamentary secretary for agriculture Richard Colbeck seemed intent on repeating the mistakes of former Labor Agriculture Minister Joe Ludwig.
“Sen Colbeck’s proposed 130m super trawler ban was obviously a Trojan horse for shorter but potentially equally devastating large freezer-factory trawlers.
“Sen Colbeck continues to ignore a broad cross-section of the Australian community who do not want to see this kind of industrialisation of our fisheries and increased threats to our protected marine life.”
Tasmanian Conservation Trust’s Jon Bryan said introducing such a large vessel was a “sure-fire way of increasing the number of seals and dolphins killed around southern Australia”.
“We’re not confident management measures will be successful in ensuring fishing activity does not deplete populations of some of Australia’s iconic marine species.
“There have been no significant advances in science or management structures associated with this fishery since the super trawler Margiris.”
Gamefish Tasmania Sports Fishing Club’s Nobby Clark raised concerns over dated stock assessments and limited understanding of fish movements.
“The Australian Fisheries Management Authority has not developed a solution to the problem of localised depletion,” he said.
“Fishing operations will remain hidden from public scrutiny under the laws of commercial in confidence.”
Tuna Club of Tasmania’s John Edwards said foreign partnerships should disallowed from selling off Australia’s fish cheaply.
He called on the Federal Government to protect the “multimillion dollar recreational fishery that supports so many Australian micro economies”.
