LIMESTONE Coast fishers hoping to bag snapper in South East waters will be required to enter a ballot, which would allow them to catch five of the species during the season.
The strict control measures, introduced by the State Government, will provide 606 randomly chosen recreational fishers with five tags in a move to prevent over-fishing in the region’s waters.
However, only half of tags will go to Limestone Coast residents, with the remaining 50pc to be allocated to people applying from other parts of South Australia.
The decision has come as a shock to the local recreational sector, including Port MacDonnell Professional Fisherman’s Association president Roger Cutting who will address the ramifications when the group’s membership meets next week.
It has also surprised recreational fisherman Nathan Taylor who prefers to target snapper in Limestone Coast waters.
“I was pretty shocked that we will have to enter a ballot, it is pretty frustrating for those who fish day in day out,” he said.
“It annoys me because I do not have the boat to go out and catch the bigger species, so snapper is the main fish I target.”
While he admitted he now had no choice but to enter the ballot, he expressed his frustration at the way it was structured.
“We are only getting 50pc of the tags and have a chance to miss out altogether,” Mr Taylor said.
“People from Adelaide and further away – who might fish here once or twice a year – are going to have access to tags that will probably just end up unused.”
Primary Industries and Regional Development Minister Tim Whetstone said the control measures were recommended by the newly-formed Snapper Management Advisory Committee.
“I am confident that we have the very best advice to support a sustainable future for commercial and recreational snapper fishing,” Mr Whetstone said.
“With the tag system we have ensured that recreational fishers living in the South East are given precedence with a 50pc allocation of tags and the remaining 50pc allocation for the rest of the tags means that all other prospective fishers in South Australia get a fair go.
“This approach will give our iconic fish stock a chance to recover in the Gulfs and West Coast, yet still provide an angling experience for hundreds of recreational fishers.”
However, Mr Taylor labelled the move by the State Government an overreaction.
“I can understand why they have restricted the other gulfs, but for me fishing snapper has never been a problem in the South East,” Mr Taylor said.
“I thought maybe they would restrict us to a bag limit or increase the size limit, but not go as far as introducing this.”
Charter boats with an active licence will each get 49 tags to continue to allow snapper fishing for tourists or South Australian fishers who are not successful in the ballot.
A total allowable catch of snapper in South East waters from February 1 to October 31 has been set at 75,000.
“Whilst snapper fishing is banned in South Australia’s gulf water and West Coast it will be permitted in the South East waters during the non-spawning period between February 1 and October 31 each year, as these stocks have been assessed as sustainable and these strict control measures will prevent overfishing,” Mr Whetstone said.
“A range of support measures is being made available to help fishers adjust to the closure of the snapper fishery, including fee relief for commercial fishers, business diversification support for charter boat operators and mental health and well-being support services.”
For amateur fisherman like Mr Taylor, it will be a case of looking elsewhere.
“I guess the alternative for me is to drive across the border to Portland, but that is still an hour away and will come at a cost,” he said.
“It is annoying, but I might have to mainly target other fish like whiting and mulloway.”
Applicants are encouraged to apply online to ensure their application for recreational snapper tags reaches PIRSA by 4pm on January 19 to participate in the ballot.
Tags will be sent to successful applicants before February 1.
