Tuesday, 29 August 2023

Portland Bay fishing

Roma BRITNELL (South-West Coast) (19:15): (319) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Outdoor Recreation, and the action I seek is for the minister to issue an interim fisheries notice to protect Portland Bay from netting from Lawrence Rocks to the mouth of the Fitzroy River. Several decades ago, after years of overfishing, the fishing community recognised something needed to change or fishing would not be sustainable in Portland, so in 1994 a handshake agreement was struck that determined there would be no commercial netting done in Portland Bay. Fish like the King George whiting and snapper fish were at the dangerously low levels of becoming extinct. It should be applauded that the Portland community were so proactive several decades ago, and consequently we have bountiful fishing supplies today. Since then commercial and recreational fishermen have coexisted in harmony for decades, honouring their gentlemen’s agreement.

Due to the recent banning of commercial fishing in Port Phillip Bay and other locations along the Victorian coastline, the Portland community are rightly concerned that some of the 150 commercial licences that are currently held in Victoria will now relocate and start netting around Portland Bay, putting Portland’s fish stocks at risk. Current fishing regulations ban commercial fishing in Portland Bay over holiday periods such as Christmas, Easter and school holidays, and the local community would like to see this extended all year round. From the locals’ experience, without the ban the bay’s marine ecosystem will be decimated once again and Portland will lose its status as a recreational fishing haven, also risking losing the thousands of recreational fishing tourists that come to Portland from across Australia every year.

The Portland community has proven that tourism, recreational fishing and commercial fishing all benefit when working in harmony, and it is crucial to make sure they continue to do so. The local community, the local recreational fishing community and the local commercial fishing operators found a way to do this 30 years ago, and it has been working successfully ever since. The respect of those who live and work in their own backyard and the wealth of knowledge that they have should be appreciated. Locals know what locals need to do. Local farmers and fishermen are often accused of harming the environment they live in, yet the opposite is more often the truth. They value environmental stewardship because they care deeply for the land, as they traditionally have had a focus on passing this on to future generations, and their stewardship in setting up agreements like this to protect the fish is a perfect example. As I said, they were successful in doing it before, so we need to ensure they can continue do this in the future.

Local fishers and the community request the minister to formalise the existing handshake agreement into regulation to secure the future of Portland Bay. Minister, over 6000 signatures have been contributed to a petition. It demonstrates just how galvanising the issue is in the community of Portland, who clearly want to see the future of recreational fishing, tourism and commercial fishing continue in a sustainable way.