By JOHN VAN KLAVEREN
A CONTROVERSIAL 95-metre floating fishing factory will bring jobs and investment when it makes Geelong port its home base later this year.
But the the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) has opposed the plan.
New owner Seafish Tasmania expects the Geelong Star to arrive in Corio Bay from the Northern Hemisphere “within two months”.
The trawler has courted controversy because it replaces Seafish Tasmania’s earlier attempt to bring out a 142m “super trawler”, which the Federal Government has banned.
MUA state secretary Kevin Bracken said the union opposed the Geelong Star “due to the extensive environmental damage it would cause”.
“We should be ensuring that southern Victoria’s fish stocks and marine life are managed in a way that means they’re sustainable in the long term.”
Small Pelagic Fishery Industry Association (SPFIA) chairman Grahame Turk said the ship would create jobs in Geelong.
“Seafish Tasmania’s investment in this fishery will create many skilled and unskilled jobs for Australians on board the vessel and on land to support the vessel and to transport and market the catch,” he said.
“Geelong stands out as a great port to base the boat. It has good unloading facilities for frozen product, good transport links and an available workforce.
“It’s a good place to house a crew because it has all the facilities a crew could want. Plus, it’s central to the fishery.
“This is a new industry not just for Geelong but for Australia. It will create export income as well.”
Mr Turk said the ship would also create up to a dozen more shore-based jobs involved in provisioning and transport.
Geelong Star addressed environmental concerns with advanced exclusion devices and sonar detection systems to avoid large species like seals and dolphins, he said.
The mid-water trawler with on-board processing and freezing capacity has a crew of 34, four of them European and the remainder Australian. Its fishing quota is 16,500 tonnes.
Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) said strict regulations ensured all fishing operations were undertaken sustainably.
AFMA said the Geelong Star would fitted with a GPS tracking system and carry independent observers and electronic monitoring technology including cameras to check fishing practices.
The boat would also need an AFMA-approved vessel management plan.
Environmentalists and recreational anglers have also expressed consern about the trawler, which would fish for redbait and blue and jack mackeral during the 2015/2016 fishing season.
