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The NSW government is consulting on tighter catch limits to rebuild snapper and yellowtail kingfish stocks, with fishers and seafood retailers warning that reduced supply could drive prices higher and make the fish less affordable.
Fishers say stricter limits would see snapper and kingfish prices rise. Stricter limits have been proposed for snapper and yellowtail kingfish to help rebuild stocks in NSW fisheries.
The NSW government has extended the consultation period for the proposed changes until February 15. Seafood shops and fishers are warning snapper and yellowtail kingfish could become unaffordable if catch limits are tightened. Both species are popular menu items, but stocks of kingfish in particular were described as "dangerously low" in a recent statement from the NSW Agriculture Minister Tara Moriarty. The state government has proposed reducing the annual kingfish catch from 250 tonnes to 120 tonnes a year.
The snapper take would remain at 300 tonnes a year, but the proposal would include commercial monthly catch limits and a bag limit of three, with only one over 70 centimetres for recreational fishers. Naeco Blue Seafood's Adam Hambley says he cannot see people willing to pay any more for snapper and kingfish. Adam Hambley, who owns a seafood shop in South Grafton in northern NSW, said stricter limits would lead to higher prices.
"If we see a $5 increase on the whole fish, we're going to see a $20 increase in the fillet, so you're going to near $80-90 a kilo for snapper fillets… I don't believe that anyone here will pay that much," he said. "If that price does go up, which it definitely will with less in the marketplace, they'll simply disappear out of the local area.
"40 kilograms of snapper while commercially fishing at Tuncurry on the NSW mid north coast. Under the proposed reforms, he would be allowed 10 kilograms, which he estimated would cost him up to $300 a day. ABC News: Lauren BohaneMr Gogerly said any fish thrown back were unlikely to survive due to internal damage caused by the pressure change when pulled from the deep ocean.
"The fish will die, the sharks will eat them and it's just a good product that's going to go to waste. "Under the changes yellowtail kingfish limits would drop from five per person to one per boat. Craig McGill says if the proposed changes to catch limits for yellowtail kingfish are implemented it could destroy his business.
"I get four guys on board; for me to have to tell them that they've got to share one kingfish, or that one guy gets to take one kingfish and the others can't catch one … they all pay a premium to come charter fishing with me. " Michael Mashado estimated the proposed changes would cost his tackle store in Eden, on the NSW far south coast, up to $200,000 in sales per year.
"Nobody's going to come and buy the quantity of gear to go and catch one kingfish or three snapper," he said. "By the time you throw in fuel, travel, and all the other bits to be able to keep one kingfish for a boat, it isn't worth going. "Michael Mashado says the proposed changes could have a broader impact on local towns where fishing is a major tourist attraction.
"If you look at a family that comes here with a big boat, they spend in the tackle shop, they spend it at the pub, they spend it at the supermarket," he said.fish stocks to recover, while still allowing some commercial and recreational catch. "We know approximately recreational fishers take about 50 per cent of the catch, as do commercial fishers, for both of these species," DPIRD director of fisheries management Heath Folpp said.
"We try to make those changes, where we can, as equal as possible, so every sector essentially feels the same pain … when it comes to pulling down those numbers that are being harvested. " Public consultation on the proposed changes was extended until mid-February in response to industry concerns.
NSW Fishing Limits Snapper Yellowtail Kingfish Stock Rebuilding Seafood Prices
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