Satellites to keep watch on fishermen

COMMERCIAL fishers will be tracked by satellite to make sure they’re not operating in illegal waters under an overhaul of the state’s fishing strategy.

The Palaszczuk Government has announced $ 20 million will be in next week’s Budget to hire 20 more patrol officers to enforce its new plan for sustainable fisheries to 2027. Among reforms are the setting of clear limits to ensure fish stocks don’t fall below about 60 per cent, harvest strategies for individual fisheries, region- specific rules, use of technology to monitor fish stocks and satellite tracking.

But suggestions a recreational fishing licence be introduced to fund the work were quashed, with commercial licence fees and recreation boat registrations already bringing in around $ 5 million a year.

Fisheries Minister Bill Byrne said the funding injection was about making sure the industry could continue to support thousands of jobs decades into the future. He said the plan heralded the biggest fisheries reforms in the state’s history.

“It will help shape our fisheries over the next 10 years and will ensure they are managed in a sustainable and responsible way for the benefit of all Queenslanders,” he said.

The state’s seafood industry was last night considering the ramifications of the new plan but WWF- Australia and the Australian Marine Conservation Society ( AMCS) were celebrating it as a win.

“People will be able to have confidence that fishing is not occurring in protected areas and this will level the playing field for commercial fishers who do the right thing,” AMCS’s Josh Coates said.