The Independent Member for Denison, Andrew Wilkie, has called on the Federal Government to apply the ban on super trawlers to include all large freezer factory vessels.
“The recently re-flagged and renamed Geelong Star has arrived in Australia apparently with the blessing of the Federal Government but undoubtedly against the will of the vast majority of the Australian community,’’ Mr Wilkie said.
“The Geelong Star is 95m long, can hold more than 1,000 tonnes of fish and is the largest freezer factory vessel to fish in the Australian small pelagic fishery. It represents a dramatic and alarming increase in the industrialisation of Australia’s commercial fishing.’’
Mr Wilkie said the Federal Government’s ban on super trawlers of more than 130m needed to be extended to include vessels like the Geelong Star with their huge on-board freezer factories that can decimate local fish stocks.
“It is capacity that matters, not length,’’ Mr Wilkie said.
“To not consider capacity is like only considering the length of a car and not its engine size. Length is only a small part of the equation because much more important is the type of vessel. The Federal Government must go back to the drawing board and ban all freezer factory-type super trawlers.
“The Government’s claim that any vessel less than 130m is not a super trawler is downright dishonest. That length was a political fix to stop the Margiris and in no way a considered criteria for super trawlers.’’
Mr Wilkie said he was concerned the Geelong Star would deplete local fish stock and impact recreational fishing and marine life including dolphins, seals and large sea birds.
“The Geelong Star is the latest freezer factory ship to work Australia’s fishery and, would be the largest fishing vessel to operate close to Australia for 20 years and is every bit as bad as the Margiris,’’ he said.
“Moreover there remain serious doubts about the data on fish stock and just how significant the effect would be of a vessel of this size. I am advised there has been only limited additional research since the Margiris was banned in 2012.
“Concerns have also been raised with me over the operators of the Geelong Star. I note the allegation that some people associated with the vessel, at least historically, have been prosecuted for illegal fishing in other parts of the world.’’
• Richard Colbeck: ‘Government enforces ban on Super Trawlers’
• Peter Whish-Wilson: Federal Liberal Government has no credibility on super trawlers said “Senator Richard Colbeck has done everything possible to avoid scrutiny in his handling over super trawlers fishing in Australian waters. “His two major announcements in relation to super trawlers have been ‘dump and runs’ late on Christmas Eve and the day before Good Friday, in a clear attempt to limit debate and avoid scrutiny. “The hundreds of Tasmanian people turning out in protest this weekend are right to not to trust this government in making sensible fisheries decisions. “Has Senator Colbeck has picked an arbitrary size limit for the banning of vessels above 130 metres for shallow political reasons, or is this based on sound science? “Last week Senator Colbeck stated ‘This government is committed to a balanced and informed approach to fisheries management, we will continue to make any decisions regarding access to all Australian fisheries based on sound science’. “If this is correct, he should immediately release the science on which this important decision was based.
EARLIER on Tasmanian Times …
• Tasmanians rally against Super Trawlers
TUESDAY,April 21 … Don Knowler in Mercury …
• Talking Point: Health of the planet in the balance … A war is being waged over who has the right to take small fish species that ordinarily most of us, those who are not commercial or recreational fishers, would never have heard of. Blue and jack mackerel and redbait are hardly the stuff of piscine dreams, like blue-eye trevalla, blue grenadier or flathead, so why should we care? The commercial fishers – some of whom operate super and near-super trawlers – see value in those small fish, if enough can be caught in industrial-scale operations. The smaller-scale fishing boat operators and recreational fishers see a different sort of value. The redbait and mackerel might not make a meal for the table but they are a vital food source for the bigger fish that do. Without “bait” fish the bigger fish providing small-scale operators with a profit would die out, or leave Tasmanian waters. The debate over super trawlers, however, largely ignores another “stakeholder”. The super trawler war is so anthropocentric, pitting one group of humans against another, that it ignores the fact the target fish are also a vital food resource for seabirds, to say nothing of mammals who also make the sea their home, like seals and dolphins. In the great fishing debate you will not hear the black-browed or shy albatross mentioned, or the cape petrel or the fairy prion, unless by a minority – those termed “greenies” who are portrayed as being out of step with the reality of human domination of the planet. In truth, the ocean belongs to all who make their home there and rely on it for resources, mankind or members of the animal kingdom. …
TV Resident
April 18, 2015 at 16:41
The lib/lab gov’ts don’t care about the environment, all they care about is the ‘quick buck’ that they can get NOW and bugger the future. We have seen the same thing happening with mining, of all kinds plus the dredging near the Great Barrier Reef, forestry and now the deep sea trawling of our seas. Science and the disastrous results from the same happenings in other parts of the world seem to be of no interest to the politicians who give the approval(on our behalf). I don’t understand the GREED of businesses who think only short term to the detriment of everything else.
Robert LePage
April 22, 2015 at 18:40
A parallel would be the selling of millions of tons of wood chips for a pittance that adds up to a substantial profit because of the quantity.
So thousands of tons of “bait” fish can add up to a huge profit for the people concerned.
It will also probably mean even more shark attacks on surfers as we denude the ocean of fish.
I gather the world fish stock is now down approximately 90%.
One day it will be down to nil and we will wonder how we let this happen.
Good old capitalist greed will have done it.
Leonard Colquhoun
April 22, 2015 at 23:42
I haven’t formed a specific attitude to this matter yet (and maybe won’t), but was intrigued by MHR Wilkie’s “undoubtedly against the will of the vast majority of the Australian community”.
But I am interested in this: how did MHR Wilkie arrive at his “undoubtedly” and “vast majority”? Did he use skills from his time at the Office of National Assessments to come to these conclusions?
Karl Stevens
April 23, 2015 at 02:03
Because we have a foreign born PM he consistently fails to act in the Australian interest IMHO. The supertrawler scam is an example of that foreign attitude towards Australia. They don’t care about our fishery or even our sons and daughters who love surfing and are attacked by starving sharks while catching waves.
They only care about their foreign masters such as the British royal family and their pathetic collection of tin medals and trinkets handed out by subservient nut jobs like Tony Abbott.
Abbott’s attitude towards Aboriginals is a crime against this country in my view. We should deport him back to where he came from.
Wilkie is 100% right on the trawler scam and those who think otherwise should get out of the private clubs and into the real world IMHO.