Senior public servants have confirmed Australia is now a net importer of seafood as the Federal Opposition warns of a looming “Battle for the Coral Seaâ€. LNP Senator Ron Boswell says Australia's commercial fishing industry is under unprecedented pressure, with a real risk the Coral Sea off Queensland's far north coast will become a commercial no-go zone.
“One long-line tuna fisherman operating in the Coral Sea has had his fees increased from $86,000 to $166,000,†Senator Boswell said.
Commercial fishermen in the Coral Sea had told him they would not give up their trade quietly, he said.
“There is another Battle of the Coral Sea looming,†Senator Boswell said Wednesday night.
Dr James Findlay from the Australian Fisheries Management Authority confirmed in Senate Estimates hearings Australia had become a net importer of sea food.
“We became a net importer of seafood by volume for the first time last year,†Dr Findlay said.
Dr Findlay also confirmed the Commonwealth commercial fishery fleet was down to about 360 boats – a cut of about a third over the past five years.
Some fishing operators were handing in licences, citing financial hardship in paying fees, Dr Findlay, the authority's acting chief executive, said.
But Dr Findlay also said the authority’s harvest-strategy policy was creating a recovery in national fishery and could result in an increased harvest.
“That (increased harvests) will take some time, but we are seeing the early results of that already,†Dr Findlay said.
Other international fisheries such as Thailand did not run similar sustainable fish-management programs, he said.
Senator Boswell says the Labor Government and the Greens are preparing for large marine reserves around Australia which will severely restrict commercial and recreational fishing.
Fisheries Minister Joe Ludwig said that Senator Boswell's claims on the closure of fishing grounds were purely speculative.
“I am saying that no decision has been made,†Senator Ludwig said in an exchange with Senator Boswell last week in a Senate Estimates hearing.
“You are saying that there has been a decision made to close but there has been no decision.â€
