Tasmanian Labor acknowledges there are serious problems with a number of scalefish species stocks, including the depletion of sand flathead.
We support the proposed changes but depleting scalefish stocks are not new and could have been addressed if the Liberal Government hadn’t avoided the issue for so long.
Size and bag limit changes were introduced by the Liberals back in 2015 when Premier Jeremy Rockliff was the Agriculture Minister and in charge of the fisheries portfolio.
Even back then, the Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies highlighted to him that sand flathead were facing pressure in popular fishing locations.
The most recent analysis has showed that his decision hasn’t prevented stocks from declining to the critical levels they are today.
Also, if the Government is serious about restoring the sand flathead stock levels, it seems likely the Government will need to invest more than $250,000 towards its recovery.
The fact is after 10 years in power the Liberals have left Tasmania with critically depleted wild fisheries, which really makes you wonder how committed they are now to restoring sand flathead stocks for Tasmania’s recreational fishers.
Tasmanian Labor will review the changes to the scalefish rules extensively and welcomes the commitment by the Government to consult with the community over this important issue.
Janie Finlay MP
Shadow Minister for Primary Industries and Water