Fishers want zone change
RECREATIONAL fishing advocates are calling for the net-free zone to be extended amid growing upset at trawlers operating off Palm Cove.
The practice is not against the law, as long as trawlers maintain a legal distance, but Division 9 Cairns Regional Councillor Brett Olds said locals wanted a change.
He called for the net-free zone, which currently ends at Trinity Beach, to be extended to Double Island.
Paul Aubin, founder of recreational fishing lobby group, CAREFISH, backed the call.
RECREATIONAL fishing advocates are calling for the net-free zone to be extended amid growing upset at trawlers operating off Palm Cove.
The practice is not against the law, as long as trawlers maintain a legal distance, but Division 9 Cairns Regional Councillor Brett Olds said locals wanted a change.
He called for the net-free zone, which currently ends at Trinity Beach, to be extended to Double Island.
“The trawlers come up and park on the jetty, and sometimes there’s five of them cruising along really close into Palm Cove,” he said.
“They stir up the water, drag their chains and make it look awful for tourists.”
Paul Aubin, founder of recreational fishing lobby group CAREFISH, backed the call but acknowledged trawlers had cleaned up their act since mandatory vessel monitoring systems were introduced.
“We’re not trying to stop commercial fishers, we’re just trying to move them out of that nursery area,” he said.
“That would be really valuable and something worth advertising and marketing.
“Darwin did something similar and they’ve pick up more than $100 million a year in recreational fishing tourism.
“Cairns has a lot more to offer than Darwin – we’ve got the reef and rainforest as well.”
Veteran prawn trawler Jim Newman argued the industry was the most environmentally conscious it had ever been and further restrictions would only benefit people who could afford boats while everyday punters paid more for seafood.
“Net-free zones are not a sustainability tool, they’re just about making it easier for recreational fishers to catch more fish,” he said.
Barron River MP Craig Crawford said zone extensions were a matter for the Fisheries Minister but he was happy to support “anything that gets recreational anglers a better time on the water”.