Outlawing ‘factory fishing’ is the only way to guarantee a long term future for Australia’s fisheries and support a sustainable fishing industry, Greens MLC Ian Cohen said today.
Mr Cohen’s comments follow a decision by the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) today to freeze entry of new boats into the small pelagic fishery until at least June 2005. The owners of the 106-metre long MV Veronica are seeking entry to that fishery.
“The delay is a welcome one but the federal government cannot afford to simply believe that a quota system is enough to prevent our fish stocks being plundered to the point of extinction.”
Mr Cohen called for factory fishing, such as that conducted by super trawlers such as the MV Veronica and its even bigger sister the MV Atlantic Dawn, to be outlawed in Australian waters.
“There are too many possibilities for mistakes and too many precedents of rules being snubbed to allow this type of fishing to take place in Australia. We cannot afford to innocently believe that Australia’s fishing quota system is enough to stop problems occurring.
“If Australia opens the door to these huge fish factories, then it will undo many years of hard work the local commercial fishing industry has done to operate sustainably,” Mr Cohen said.
“Fishing on this scale is not known here yet but we still manage to support a successful fishing industry. Australia has the opportunity to lead the world in sustainable fishing, but if vessels such as the Veronica are allowed to operate, we will lose our credibility as good environmental managers.
“Overfishing can devastate an ecosystem. The impact of over-fishing is all too obvious in the North Atlantic, where species such as the cod are of the edge of extinction, and off west Africa, where fish factories catch more fish in a day than locals catch in a year.”
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