Fishers fight to catch mackerel

ONE of Queensland’s favourite seafoods could be off the menu at fish and chip shops under a state government plan to slash the catch quota by up to 90 per cent and ban fishing for three months of the year.

The Spanish mackerel is one of Australia’s toughestfighting fish but commercial fishers are now fighting to save the industry in the face of threatened new restrictions.

Recreational fishers would also be hit, with a proposal to limit catches to just two mackerel per boat from six.

It follows Fisheries Queensland research showing Spanish mackerel stocks have collapsed to just 17 per cent of the unfished biomass from 40 per cent in 2018.

But some angry commercial fishers have questioned the science behind the data and accused Fisheries Queensland of mismanagement. They say the threatened restrictions would scuttle the livelihoods of many of the more than 200 Spanish mackerel permit holders who use rod and reels or handline.

Mackerel fisherman Pat Selman said commercial operators had not increased their annual catch of about 300 tonnes in 20 years and there were concerns about the unknown impact of recreational fishers.