A MAP provided to the Australian Recreational Fishing Foundation (ARFF) by the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) clarifies what many recreational fishermen have feared for a while.
The Geelong Star will potentially fish over the top of the iconic NSW South Coast recreational fishing grounds this summer. The map reveals that the supertrawler is actually banned from fishing waters of the small pelagic fishery that are over 700 metres in depth.
This means it can fish between the three miles from the coast (the commonwealth/state waters boundary) and the 700 metre depth line which is around the edge of the continental shelf. The ban on the supertrawler lifts Wednesday 16th December and in all likelihood the vessel will be heading straight for the small, productive stretch of water off the NSW South Coast.
This area includes some of Australia’s best and most iconic recreational fishing areas such as Eden, Merimbula, Bermagui, Narooma, Bateman’s Bay, Ulladulla, Jervis Bay and Kiama.
An explaination of this map can be found on the ARFF website.
Over the summer period thousands of recreational fishers and tourists frequent these waters, generating millions of dollars for the local communities. This year they are likely to be sharing it with the Geelong Star.
You can send a message to the Federal Member for Eden, Peter Hendy via the Keep Australia Fishing website.
