The Marshall Liberal Government has delivered on another election commitment by establishing a new Advisory Committee to work with the commercial fishing industry.
The Advisory Committee will work with both industry and the State Government to reform the commercial Marine Scalefish Fishery.
Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development Tim Whetstone said the committee will be made up of representatives with wide-ranging experience and comes in response to requests from industry itself to reform the fishery.
“The reform relates specifically to the commercial fishery but will benefit all fishing sectors in the long run improving outcomes for iconic species such as Snapper, King George Whiting, Garfish and Squid,” said Minister Whetstone.
“This government has committed to investigating and implementing key reforms in South Australia’s commercial Marine Scalefish Fishery to unlock the industry’s potential and provide long-term stability for the fishery.
“All fishers – commercial and recreational – will benefit significantly from improving the health of our fish stocks, and by fostering a more economically viable commercial fishery we will see better outcomes for our regional communities.
“The new Fisheries Reform Advisory Committee will be the main source of advice to Government on a new management framework and is an important group to start the development of the reform package.
“The new committee has 12 members chosen for their expertise and fair representation across the commercial sector, as well as a member providing a recreational fishing perspective, an independent economist, technical fisheries management and science experts, and an independent chair.
“A technical working group will support the advisory committee with analysis of the available information and fishery data and evaluating possible options for zoning, licence reduction and a more modernised fisheries management framework.
“I am looking forward to hearing from the committee as they move forward with their reform tasks.”
Membership of the committee was determined by the Minister with reference to advice from a selection panel involving a PIRSA representative, the independent chair and a representative of the Marine Fishers Association.
The Fisheries Reform Advisory Committee members:
- Independent chairperson (David Hall)
- Independent economist (Roger Edwards)
- Commercial Marine Scalefish Fishery (Bart Butson, Craig Fletcher, Johnny Kouvaris, Gary Lloyd, Neil Schmucker, Amanda Wheeler)
- Rock Lobster Fishery (Joel Redman)
- Member providing recreational fishing sector perspective (Wally Lamont)
- Fisheries management expert from PIRSA’s Fisheries and Aquaculture division (Jon Presser)
- Fisheries science expert from PIRSA’s research division SARDI (Dr Mike Steer)
- Committee support officer (Jonathan McPhail).
As the advisory committee develops reform options, consultation will be undertaken with all licence holders to ensure all fishers have the opportunity to have input to the reform process.
Periodic updates on the commercial reform will be posted to: https://www.pir.sa.gov.au/fishing/commercial_fishing/fisheries/marine_scalefish_fishery/reform
