The once-thriving commercial fishing industry in the Sunshine State has been in decline for decades.
One fisherman blames the spiralling volume of red tape based on environmental activism.
While well-meaning, the policies have put pressure on the fishing fleets, resulting in thousands going out of work, and ship numbers dropping from around 200 boats in the 1980s, to 75 today.
A Fisherman’s Tale
Queensland commercial fisherman Damian Langley is facing such a challenge.He is locked in a legal battle with the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF) after one of his boats accidentally steered into a marine park—a protected nature reserve covering sea and ocean.
According to Langley, the vessel was in the marine park for about seven minutes, it also did not drop anchor or fish, neither was he onboard.
Yet the DAF issued the fishing boss a $13,000 (US$8,300) fine.
“Here I am spending my retirement money on [fighting] something I didn’t do,” Langley told The Epoch Times. ”It is out of control, the mental stress on fishermen.”
He says this is an example of one issue plaguing the state’s fisheries system.
Australia has one of the world’s longest coastlines, and third largest Economic Exclusion Zone, but imports two-thirds of seafood from overseas mainly from Asia, Norway, and New Zealand.
The Epoch Times contacted the DAF and in response, a spokesperson said they could not comment on the case as it was before the courts.
Flawed Data Collection Behind Tough Quotas for Fishers
Langley explains that authorities rely on commercial fishers to collect the data that underpins their decision-making.After a long day, fishermen will report catch counts on automated phone lines, entering data for up to 70 different species.
Langley says the DAF’s methodology and decision-making relies on the total numbers collected, but fails to account for the shrinking number of boats.
These figures are also used to set quotas for the fisherman.
The cap for mackerel, which is Langley’s focus, has dropped from 580 to 164 tonnes in 12 months, forcing him to downsize his crew and adjust his operations dramatically.
This prompted Queensland Senator Gerard Rennick to post about it on social media.
“It is madness for the state and federal government to allow the importation of fish from overfished areas while destroying our fishing industries,” he wrote.
Meanwhile, Langley is confident mackerel populations are thriving, and that most species are doing well, including sharks—he noted that bull shark populations are now reaching plague-like levels.
Yet Langley is not the only fisherman facing challenges.
Micro-Managed Out of Existence
Bundaberg-based Paul Grunske started in 1977 and has seen the shift of the once thriving industry, to one now on its dying legs.“We’re being managed and micro-managed out of existence,” he told The Epoch Times.
The net started to tighten after “green zones” were first introduced, with the growth of regulation continuing since then.
Grunske says about 40 percent of the sea is now off-limits to fishing. He also says his retail seafood shop has to sell sea scallops imported from Japan because local fishers cannot touch a glut of scallops on the North Queensland coast due to perceived shortages in other areas.
The federal Department of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Forestry (DAFF) has pointed to several reasons why Australia is an importer of seafood.
“Australia differs from many other developed countries in that a significant proportion of Australian product, which could otherwise supply the domestic market, is sold to export markets due to price,” the DAFF said in a 2015 update.
“These products are generally still available in Australia, but Australian consumers are often unwilling to pay as high a price as export markets for the volumes produced.”
High value products include abalone, rock lobster, and tuna.
The DAFF research also suggested that Australia’s coastlines are not as fertile, and do not produce as many fish.
“Unlike other countries, the Australian continent does not have large offshore upwellings or sufficient runoff from the landmass to provide nutrients that naturally support larger fish stocks.”
However, the long-time fisherman Grunske believes misinformation has impacted the industry.
For example, he says there is a common perception that scallops are caught by dredging the sea floor. Actually, fishermen use nets.
Another common misconception is the extent of coral bleaching.
Grunske says there is a need for “real science” and not “doom science” that is largely negative about the health of Australia’s seas.
He also says families of fisherman need to be heard.
“Fishermen at meetings these days are now told they’re not to have any input—they’re only there to take back what the industry’s told them,” Grunske said.
“The antidote to the problem is a return to common sense and recognition that fishing families are regular people barely holding on—but holding on all the same.”
Researcher Says Decision-Making Based on Flawed Science
Reef researcher Peter Ridd, based in Townsville, echoed both men’s concerns saying most of the government’s science is flawed.“There has been a massive decline, perhaps around 50 percent, in Australian commercial wild-caught fishing and it is almost all due to government regulation based on dodgy ’science,'” he told The Epoch Times.
“The recent declaration of the closure of the Gulf of Carpentaria gillnet fishery to supposedly protect the Great Barrier Reef is a case in point.
“The southern Gulf is over 700 kilometres from the nearest point of the Great Barrier Reef, and it is inconceivable that fishing so far away could impact an almost unconnected ecosystem on the opposite side of Cape York. No scientific evidence was given to support this closure.”
Ridd said Australia was now importing most of its seafood, which was likely more damaging to other ecosystems worldwide.
“Australia now imports two-thirds of its seafood despite having a small population and controlling the third largest ocean area in any country in the world,” he said.
“We now import from countries with far lower environmental standards.
“Australian fishing was done sustainably before the closures of the last two decades started to be enforced.”
Langley concurred saying his crew could never “over-fish.”
“For every species we take, there’s 50 more we don’t take,” he said, adding that foreign fishers were still hauling in big catches.
He also warned all these demands would lead to higher prices for consumers due to a combination of rising fishing license fees, and few local boats heading out to see.
“It’s gone from thousands of fishermen to a handful,” Langley said.
The Government Response
The new Minister for Primary Industries Tony Perrett of the recently elected Liberal National Party government says he wants to bring proper scientific analysis back into policy-making for the fishing industry.“The LNP government has committed to fully supporting scientifically backed changes to fishing zones across Queensland,” he told The Epoch Times.
“This industry deserves transparency, and we will ensure—if changes are made—that these are communicated, and fishers are compensated for any losses caused.”
The federal DAFF released a statement on the same day Perrett spoke to The Epoch Times lauding the state of the fishing industry in Australia.
Deputy Secretary for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Policy Matt Lowe said Australian fisheries were pioneering sustainable practices.
“For a start, the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation’s 2024 Status of Australian Fish Stocks report found that Australia’s fish stocks are well-managed with 85 percent considered sustainable or recovering,” he said.
“Maintaining sustainable fish stocks requires good science and careful management. Australia is a leading example of how to balance economic and environmental interest so there’s a long-term future for our nation’s $3.6 billion fisheries and aquaculture industry.”
Lowe said the Australian government was also considering measures to prevent seafood imports that may involve illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing.
“Australia’s fisheries have a fantastic story to tell—one where industry and strong environmental values can operate in tandem with each other,” he said.
