Weighing up the state of our seafish

Help Tassie strike the right balance on recreational fishing, says Guy Barnett

TASMANIA has some of the best recreational sea fishing in the world, with more than 100,000 recreational fishers who love nothing more than casting a line and enjoying our beautiful state. Recreational fishing is part of our way of life and much loved by many Tasmanians, including myself, and we are committed to ensuring it has a bright and sustainable future. That’s why we are developin gthe state’s first Recreational Sea Fishing10-year Strategy, and Tasmanians are invited to have their say through a discussion paper that can be viewed online. The paper will seek feedback on the proposed vision, outcomes and strategic initiatives for recreational fishing in Tasmania, and incorporates feedback from over 3200 Tasmanians who responded to the “For a Better Fishing Future” survey in June and July. It will give us the information we need to inform the long-term vision for recreational sea fishing in Tasmania. We know from the 20172018 IMAS survey of recreational fishing that almost one in four Tasmanians cast a line, fishing an average of five days per year, with flat head the main target species. In fact, recent I MA S research shows that about 1.7 million flat head were caught in the 2018-18period (with 56 percent released ). There search also showed fishers spent an average of $1800 pe rperson on boats, fuel, fishing gear and other equipment. So fishing is not only important to us as a pas time but also delivers economic and social benefits to the community. The strategy demonstrates our strong support and recognition of the importance of recreational marine fishing to our state and I encourage Tasmanians to jump online and let us know their thoughts. With your input, it will help us strike the right balance between providing access for today’ s fisher sand ensure we have fish for future generations. We also want more women, children and families to embrace recreational fishing as a great form of exercise and to take advantage of Tasmania’ s world class coastlines and estuaries as part of their lifestyle choices. Public submissions can be made until October 25. Small public meetings will also be held across the state to share results from prior public engagement, to seek fisher and community views and discuss priorities for action. The discussion paper, consultation schedule, and a summary of the results from the For a Better Fishing Future Survey are available at: www.fishing.tas.gov.au/recstrategy The draft Tasmanian Recreational Sea Fishing Strategy will be released for public comment early next year. And while we are talking fishing, not all of us are able to cast a line ourselves, so let’s also support local fisher sand buylocalseafood. The Tasmanian Seafood Industry Council has an Eat More Seafood Campaign, and I encourage you to get behind our workers and visit a local seafood outlet this school holidays. Find out where to goat https://www.tsic.org.au/ eat more seafood. html.