THE State Government’s “erratic approach” to managing snapper stocks in South Australian waters could result in the depletion of snapper from South East shores, Labor parliamentarian Clare Scriven says.
The opposition frontbencher said Limestone Coast fishers have raised concerns about commercial operators from Spencer Gulf and Gulf St Vincent travelling south to target snapper and circumnavigate the ban.
The South East is the only area which will be exempt from a three-year total snapper ban, with fishing prohibited during an extended non-spawning period between February and October each year.
However, Ms Scriven said the ban in the northern waters may encourage fishers to come to the South East and “deplete the stocks here.”
“I have spoken to a couple of people who have said if there is a snapper ban in Gulf St Vincent and the Spencer Gulf, it might affect our fishery,” she said.
“There are also concerns about the equipment and services available for fishers.”
Ms Scriven said fishers unfamiliar with South East coastal conditions could also face safety risks.
“Most people who fish snapper are in located in the two other gulfs, which are much quieter and less rough than the water along our coast,” she said.
“There are concerns about safety of the people who are not used to our water being out here.
“It may also put pressure on our sea rescuers.”
While a total allowable catch for snapper will be set and shared between the commercial, recreational and charter fishers, Recreational Fishers Association Lower South East branch former president Darryl Cox also raised concerns about the implications the ban would have on other fish stocks.
“The biggest problem is the commercial fishing because if you start dropping 10,000 hooks on the South East coast, you are going to deplete the community’s stocks,” he said.
“What is to stop them from fishing us hard for three years while they are banned from fishing up there?
“I do not think people have taken by catch, which includes things like gummy shark and parrotfish, into consideration and how that could be affected as well.
“If any fish have been on the hook for more than an hour, it is probably dead and that could also affect the ecology of our area.
“It is not a finite resource and snapper can be fished out pretty easily as we have already seen.”
Fishers caught with snapper face on-the-spot fines of $315 or, if prosecuted, a maximum $20,000 penalty.
Accidentally hooked snapper caught while fishing for other species must be carefully handled to immediately return it to the water.
Catch and release is strictly prohibited.
