Qld Election - Fishing Regulations

Got the following today by email, thought it is very worthy of
consideration.
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Our backs are against the wall. We have a small commercial fishing business
which has provided for us and our seven children and also a deckhand in the
past. We are not wealty but have had sufficient to live on. Due to recent
legislation enacted by the Beattie Government we have gone backwards to
where we are now hoping and praying that we have enough to pay the bills.
Because we are in business for ourselves, we do not qualify for any
assistance from Centrelink, nor has the Beattie government made any
allowance for assistance for people like us through the Rural Adjustment
Scheme, nor has the government any intention of providing any compensation
or restructure packages. They have repeatedly said, "NO COMPENSATION! The
truth of it is that we would much rather be allowed to continue to work,
anyway. Other fishers in the past have been bought out - why not now, or is
a coalition government more fair-minded.



If Beattie gets back in to government our days in this business will be
finished, because we know what is on the agenda. We will be going out with
a boat and a lot of specialised gear that we cannot sell and an expensive
licence that has been reduced to being worth nothing.



If Beattie's government and the voice of the population says to get rid of
our industry, then the only fair thing is to buy us out and at least give us
some dignity to get out with. After all, most people who leave a job after
decades end up with some sort of golden handshake.



All of Beattie's government who have been in for the two terms will have
superannuation payouts beyond our comprehension.



The government repeatedly says that we can go and catch other fish.
Considering they have been closing everything else up and/or putting
Investment Warnings out, because they continue to say there are 'too many
fishers' (when the fleet has already been cut down drastically over the past
decade, anyway) and we don't have the required History of fishing in these
other fisheries, we would like to know, WHAT other fish CAN we target?



Please read on, as our future depends on it.



Over the past 3 years, the commercial fishing industry has had legislation
enacted against it that has gone against the government's own studies and
was even stated in documents to industry that it was 'in consequence of
conflict between commercial and recreational fishers', and not for any
reason of sustainability.



We have since received information that the present government made promises
to the anti-commercial fishing lobbyists (Sunfish) regarding enacting this
legislation prior to the 2001 election.



When the announcements have been made to the public, however, the government
has mostly used the arguments of sustainability of the fish stocks to
justify the decisions. We know this to be untrue but our efforts to bring
the truth to the public get thwarted, and our industry continues to be
demonized.



We now have evidence that the government has made further promises to the
anti-commercial fishing lobbyists, which are to be enacted after the
election should the government be returned to office.



What is needed is a government which is going to use true and honest
consultation and science to re-enthrone commercial fishing as a valued
primary industry which feeds people.



Recreational fishers either catch & release their fish or keep it for
themselves. The Queensland Seafood Industry Association has nothing against
those who catch for their own use.



Commercial fishers do not keep the seafood they catch for themselves. They
provide food for the general public. FOOD is a BASIC DAILY NEED and
dietitians point out that seafood has great importance in a balanced diet.



The Queensland Seafood Industry is not against sustainability - in most
cases it has been professional fishers who have been the ones who have
identified the need to implement management measures to ensure
sustainability, BUT the Beattie government goes for OVERKILL!





By enacting legislation which is according to the government, 'in
consequence of conflict between recreational and commercial fishers', the
government has heavily impacted on commercial fisheries since that
legislation has always been in favour of the recreational fishers.



This provokes some serious questions which must be answered.



In 2001-2002, the professional fishers of Queensland provided 63,765,000
meal portions of fish alone.



With certain popular species being made accessible to recreational fishers
only, and with many of the best fishing grounds being targeted as Fish
Havens only accessible to recreational fishers, it hardly seems fair (as the
Fisheries Act insists access must be), that the 840,000 people, (according
to Sunfish figures) who go fishing for fun at least once a year, should take
precedence over the millions of people who ate the 63,765,000 fish meal
portions in 2001-2002.



In a recent survey in the Courier Mail, a large proportion of our population
reported that they are working longer hours than ever to make ends meet.
You may even be in the same boat yourself.



MILLIONS of people, even in the nations who are our geographically closest
neighbours, are JUST TRYING TO SURVIVE and would rate recreation as very LOW
on their list of priorities.



With these things in mind, can anyone justify the present governments'
management of this food supply and its apparent disregard for the rights of
commercial fishers to provide food for their own families' NEEDS as well as
for the population, simply to satisfy the WANTS of a few avid recreational
anglers who WANT all of the resource to themselves so they can FISH FOR FUN?



Is it ethical or right or SMART to sacrifice the population's FOOD in an
effort to satisfy a few people's insatible desire for FUN?



In the Fisheries Act, 1976, a provision gave right of way over recreational
fishers to commercial fishers engaged in catching product.



I believe this was for 2 very good reasons:



1.. It showed respect for those engaged in the normal course of earning an
honest living, and;
2.. It showed respect for those who help provide the populations' food.

Since then, in Queensland, commercial fishers have been demonized through
the lobbying of certain anti-commercial fishing people with time on their
hands, and who largely want the resource to themselves.



By listening to these lobbyists and making promises to them, the present
government has shown an obvious disregard for our population's need for good
food.



Marie Antoinette learnt that it wasn't SMART to be flippant about a
population's food supply.



Do you think it SMART for a government to bite the hands that feed them by
legislating to place huge sections of a valuable food supply solely into the
hands of a few who want to catch & release that fish for FUN?



In considering the importance of sustainability of fish stocks, there is
serious concern over the survival rate of those fish which are caught &
released. We know that the very great majority of these fish are so
mutilated, or so exhausted that they cannot possibly survive in the harsh
marine environment. It's a FISH EAT FISH world out there!!!



If you have any compassion for our plight and the plights of hundreds of
other commercial fishing families, OR if you simply think this situation is
unfair or unwise, OR if you care at all about your own access to fresh
Queensland seafood, then PLEASE, PLEASE send this email on to as many others
as you can before February 7th and ask your political candidates for their
responses to these questions I have raised, and seek a commitment from them
to safeguard our livelihoods and your seafood BEFORE YOU VOTE ON SATURDAY.



Thank you for taking the time to read this email and if you act on our
behalf, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.