Fisherman slams buyback proposal

A COMMERCIAL fisherman says the already shattered industry would be ruined by a plan for a voluntary licence buyback scheme proposed by the LNP.

State Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington said about $6m would be spent on the buyback, which would prioritise buying back licences for gill nets and licences in the Cape, an area with the largest population of dugong in the Great Barrier Reef.

The announcement was part of an $8.5m package which also included a Reefsafe labelling policy for seafood sustainably sourced from the Great Barrier Reef, and the establishment of three new artificial reefs.

“Our plan to introduce a voluntary licence buyback scheme will protect local marine life while creating more secure jobs for commercial fishers,” Ms Frecklington said.

“The voluntary buyback scheme will target licences in the Cape and provide an important structural adjustment to the industry, while protecting dugongs, marine turtles and other local marine life.

“Less nets in the water means less pressure on fish stocks, but it also means more long-term jobs and more profits for fishing businesses.”

It’s a move, Burdekin fisherman Neil Green said, that would only put more pressure on fisheries.

“This is very disappointing to me as a … long-time commercial fisherman,” he said.

“I have been very involved in the politics of fishing and certainly when an election comes these people seem to just decide to sacrifice commercial fishing to win green votes and recreational fishing.

“We’ve lost that many jobs and what Deb is coming out and saying here is we’ll actually sacrifice more jobs and put fishermen on the dole queue.”

Mr Green said the LNP should have instead looked at what “what they are going to do with the reform package”.

“It’s very disappointing for someone who thought we were looking at a potential government that we could work with,” Mr Green said.

“What this equals is less seafood, exactly the opposite to what Deb’s saying.”