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MEDIA RELEASE - 16 April 2015
Progress toward an Agreement on fishing the Small Pelagic Fishery The Australian Recreational Fishing Foundation (ARFF), the national organisation representing
the interests of Australia’s recreational fishing community, today announced that discussions
with the Small Pelagic Fishing Industry Association (SPFIA), the organisation representing the
operators of the Geelong Star, had progressed in order to address concerns about the impact
of fishing of the small pelagic fishery (SPF) on recreational fishers and the broader community
(see attached joint statement).
Commonwealth Government permission for the Geelong Star to fish the SPF has been granted
despite ARFF's legitimate ongoing concerns.
ARFF tabled a proposal to SPFIA on its concerns and how it believes any impacts of industrial
scale fishing of the SPF on recreational fishing can be minimised by managing where and
when vessels fish and ongoing research into fishing the SPF on the impacts of recreational
fishing.
The ARFF proposal recognises that the SPF is a very important fishery for Australia’s
recreational fishers. What happens in the fishery can have impacts on Australia’s recreational
fishers now and for the future:
• The SPF covers a large proportion of Australia’s coastline including all of our major capital
cities and regional centres, from Brisbane, south to Sydney and Hobart, across to
Melbourne and Adelaide and Perth.
• The SPF covers some of Australia’s most iconic recreational fishing grounds.
• Under legislation for this fishery the Geelong Star can fish within three nautical miles of
these population centres and iconic fishing locations at any time of the year.
• Small pelagic fish are a major food source within the marine food web that includes key
recreational species such as southern bluefin tuna, yellowfin tuna, marlin and kingfish.
Recreational fishing in Australia generates an estimated $10 billion a year and creates tens of
thousands of jobs through out metropolitan and regional communities. We don’t want this put
at risk and there is no reason that it should be.
We are pleased that the SPFIA is considering our proposal in good faith. We have established
a working group and this group will advance the discussions toward an agreement on where
and when the vessel will fish as well as an on going research program. We expect an
agreement on these issues by the end of next week.
ENDS
For more information:
Nicholle Smith
Mob: 0427 267 545
Email: enquiries @arff.com.au
Address: ARFF, Unit 3, 22 Napier Close, Deakin ACT 2600 Postal Address: ARFF, PO Box 118, Deakin West ACT 2600 Website: www.arff.com.au Telephone: 02 6282 8500 Agreed statement
The Australian Recreational Fishing Foundation (ARFF) and the Small Pelagic Fishery Industry
Association (SPFIA) Working Group has agreed that potential impacts of commercial fishing of
the small pelagic fishery on recreational fishing and the communtiies that support them may
be able to be addressed by managing when and where vessels fish and ongoing research on
the potential impacts on recreational fishing.
The group will meet again next week to progress discussions toward an agreement about
where fishing might be restricted either spatially or temporally.
Address: ARFF, Unit 3, 22 Napier Close, Deakin ACT 2600 Postal Address: ARFF, PO Box 118, Deakin West ACT 2600 Website: www.arff.com.au Telephone: 02 6282 8500