Whilst I sympathise your situation I wonder if your predicament was
foreseeable with the growth in Aqua culture. Having been a commercial
fisherman in the past and now a recreational fisherman I understand quite
well both sides of this argument. It is my belief that Governments Australia
wide have put the fisheries problem well and truly into the "too hard
basket" and are making decisions purely from the information delivered by
the various lobby groups. If one lobby group is particularly articulate and
persuasive then that tends to be the route the presiding minister takes
rather than doing their own research. In Victoria it seems that the anti
fishing lobbies are far more vocal than others and therefore we are finding
that all fishing activities are being curtailed.
Somewhere in the middle of the two is a happy medium where a number
of commercial operators can sustain a viable and renewable resource based
income without threatening the eco system that supports them and without
destroying the fishery for the recreationalists. But until we can manage a
completely independent research analysis this will never happen.
Good luck with your efforts and I hope the Beattie government gets a
pounding too