Hundreds of family-owned commercial fishers will be forced out of the industry, due to the Labor Palaszczuk Government’s unfair fishing regulations that come into effect this month.
Recreational fishers have also been left reeling, as they question the rationale and logic behind bans on fishing certain species and the limitations to take numbers.
LNP Shadow Minister for Fisheries Tony Perrett echoed the calls of peak industry groups in having ‘no confidence’ in the Queensland Labor Government and Minister Mark Furner’s role in the fisheries reform process.
“Labor’s anti-jobs, anti-regions and anti-fishing regulation changes are a disgrace and have been slammed by both commercial and recreational fishers throughout the state,” Mr Perrett said.
“The Queensland Seafood Industry Association (QSIA) put it simply and accurately when it stated that multi-generational fishing families are being torn apart by the political agenda of this Labor Government.
“We all support a sustainable and healthy industry, but the reforms being peddled and rammed through by Labor are not based on science but petty politics.
“We have seen mud crab quota numbers restricted throughout the state despite the Queensland Fisheries website listing them as ‘sustainable’.
“Generational fishing businesses and jobs are being whipped away due to Labor arbitrarily squeezing them out, by reducing their quota to unsustainable levels.
“All these changes are being imposed on fishers without a cent of compensation.
“If Labor want to see commercial fishing jobs lost to regulation changes then the least it could do is to provide these hard-working Queenslanders a dignified exit with a suitable buyout or compensation.
“The fact that the Palaszczuk Labor Government hasn’t completed any modelling on the impact the reduction in available Queensland fisheries will have on local and domestic seafood supply shows the lack of respect it has for the industry and the Queenslanders it supports.
“It doesn’t take a genius to realise if there is less available local seafood to meet demand then imports from overseas will increase.
“The LNP want to make it easier for consumers to identify and purchase Queensland seafood through clearer labelling laws, while Labor is in the process of destroying our once proud commercial fishing fleet”.
