Mr John Doohan, Chairman of SUNFISH Qld
representing 880,000 recreational anglers in this state said that the move by
NSW Fisheries to introduce a license to make anglers pay for fisheries
management , research, commercial buybacks & enforcement shows just how
ignorant the NSW Government is of angler sentiment.
A discussion document recently released is
virtually blackmailing anglers into accepting a license otherwise no
recreational fishing management will occur he said. Queensland anglers will be
forced to pay for NSW fisheries mismanagement in the past & will place added
expenditure on families. My suggestion to Queenslanders is to avoid NSW &
enjoy the wonderful fishing in their own state which is free.
Many southern anglers move into Queensland to
enjoy a variety of fishing & this latest money grab will now see a boost to
tourism as more NSW tourist anglers holiday in the SUNSHINE State. He added that
the discussion paper clearly states that the monies will be used to honor NSW
Government promises of regional development & jobs while admitting that
inadequate funding is currently given to the administration of the billion
dollar recreational fishery.
Many promises are made in the paper without any
guarantees except from Fisheries administrators who are frustrated over the lack
of realistic funding & will do anything to raise monies – “trust me
I’m from the Government still has a familiar ring” Mr Doohan said
Many C/W & State surveys have been done in
the past with anglers rejecting anything to do with licenses unless iron clad
guarantees are given that none of the monies collected would be administered by
Government he said.
Contacts made with NSW anglers refute the claims
that 80% of the anglers want a license. What the anglers want is effective
management of their fisheries & the enforcement
of environment laws which have seen habitats lost & polluted. Both of
these are community obligations by Governments to ensure common property
resources such as fisheries are protected & need to be resourced
appropriately he said.
Recreational fishing in NSW is worth over a
billion dollars annually & creates in excess of 30,000 full time jobs. Politicians in NSW especially in
coastal areas should be extremely cautious of introducing a saltwater license as
the one million anglers in that state not only fish but they also vote.
End of press release
Contact point Mr John Doohan , Chairman SUNFISH
Qld. ph 07 33593086
Mr
David Bateman AM, EO , SUNFISH Qld. ph 07 38804 261