FISHING for snapper in South Australia may be banned until 2023 to allow “decimated” populations to recover.
According to an article on the ABC website, the State Government said stocks have declined by 87 per cent in Gulf St Vincent, and 23 per cent in the Spencer Gulf.
A statewide closure from October this year until February 2023 has been proposed in a consultation paper released by Primary Industries Minister Tim Whetstone, with the possibility that a limited season could be opened in the south-east.
Mr Whetstone said if urgent steps are not taken, the iconic species could vanish from South Australia altogether.
“It will show us that if we can put full closure of water in South Australia in place, we can protect one of the iconic species here in our waters.”
He conceded it would have an impact on commercial fishers.
“They know that the stocks are in severe decline, and if they want fish to catch for another year, for the next generation to be able to catch snapper, they have to act now,” he said.
You can read the full article HERE, or to read the discussion paper and have your say, click HERE.
