Fisheries staff boost to industry

THREE new fisheries officers will soon be patrolling the waters off Townsville as the State Government moves to secure the future of the fishing industry.

The new officers are part of a commitment by the State Government to establish a new and improved fisheries management system by investing in monitoring and research in North Queensland.

The three new officers bring the total in Townsville to seven while Airlie Beach and Mackay will also get new recruits.

Fisheries Minister Bill Byrne was in Townsville yesterday to visit commercial fishermen and said there had been a demand from the public for more frontline fisheries staff.

“QBFP ( Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol) officers focus on fisheries compliance activities, gathering intelligence to support prosecutions and educating the community about responsible fishing,” he said.

Townsville commercial net fisher Nathan Rynn said changes to fishing compliance would help to provide more certainty to the industry.

“We’ve been restricted and over managed with so much red tape,” he said. “We see this as a start and a way forward to securing our futures.”

Townsville MP Scott Stewart said Townsville had a huge amount of recreational fishers and the new officers would help protect those doing the right thing.

“Townsville is a fishing hub and the more officers we have on the ground here in terms of monitoring and research, the better,” he said.

“This not about just policing. It is about protecting all of those fishers that are doing the right thing from the minority that may not be playing by the rules.

“Fishing is an important industry in North Queensland and we can all do our part to promote locally caught, sustainable seafood.”

The recruitment process for the new fisheries officers is expected to finish in September.

To apply visit smartjobs. qld. gov. au