Latest news with #QueenslandSeafoodIndustryAssociation
ABC News
09-07-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Good weather leads to bountiful Spanish mackerel in Gulf of Carpentaria
After two years of disappointing catches, a bountiful Spanish mackerel season is underway in the Gulf of Carpentaria, and fishermen say it is good news for consumers. Fishers have struggled through two consecutive years of natural disasters, reducing the numbers of the popular fish. "It'll be a good one finally, particularly after a couple of years of floods in the Gulf," seafood retailer and commercial fisherman Andrew Tobin said. The good news for consumers, Mr Tobin said, was that prices would be stable, making the fish an affordable choice for local seafood lovers. "What you've been paying at the fish and chip shop or down at your local cafe or restaurant is unlikely to change much in the mackerel space," he said. Trawling the waters off the outback epicentre of fishing, Karumba, 400 kilometres north of Mount Isa, Mr Tobin said the quality of the fish this year was also good. "We operate in quite an isolated area, so the boats are very well equipped for looking after the fish really well," he said. "Processed on board, snap frozen to lock in that beautiful freshness that comes with wild-caught mackerel." Unlike on the east coast, Spanish mackerel fishers in the Gulf are not limited by catch quotas, but there are spawning closures that restrict when they can fish. Queensland Seafood Industry Association president Allan Bobbermen said losing access to the fishery for two to three weeks at the peak of the season did impact profitability, but he remained optimistic about the current season. "The evidence is there pointing towards an abundance of fish," he said. While the east coast fishery was popular, Mr Bobbermen said this season many operators chose to go to the Gulf instead. "We've had floods along the east coast of Queensland, unusual rainfalls, and I think that has changed the breeding habits of the fish," he said. Mr Bobbermen said even as the cost of living and comparative price of seafood squeezed consumer budgets, Spanish mackerel remained a favourite. "There's never any buyer resistance to wild-caught Spanish mackerel," he said. Karumba charter business owner Jemma Probert said the late wet season might keep the mackerel season going for longer than usual. "Barramundi held on a lot longer because we had that really late wet, which meant that your Spanish mackerel is late," she said. The season officially started for commercial fishers last week, but recreational fishers often see young mackerel in the Gulf as early as May. Ms Probert said she had already reeled in some cracker catches, and there were blue skies ahead for the season. "It will be a popular season."
ABC News
18-06-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Queensland commercial fishing industry 'open for business' as investment warnings lifted
The Queensland government has declared the state is "open for business" when it comes to commercial fishing, lifting investment warnings from every fishery in the state. Investment warnings have served as a buyer-beware label in some areas for more than a decade, creating industry uncertainty by warning that regulation changes could affect the financial viability of fishing businesses. Townsville-based commercial fisher Nathan Rynn said lifting the warnings was the "biggest announcement" he had seen in his 20 years in the industry. "Ever since I've been a commercial fisher here, there's been investment warnings on our inshore fishery, and it means no security and it can all be stripped away with a stroke of a pen," he said. "When I went to the bank to go and get money for different quotas and licences, they didn't recognise what I already had in the fishery as an investment because of that warning. Queensland Seafood Industry Association executive officer David Bobbermen said he was "ecstatic" as lifting the warnings would give the industry a "renewed purpose". "This is lifting the shackles off the wild-caught seafood industry," Mr Bobbermen said. "[Lifting the warning] will encourage young people to enter the fishery and do so with confidence." Mr Bobbermen said he hoped many unused licences would be used again, leading to more local seafood on supermarket shelves. "Everyone will start to see, hopefully, sustainably, locally caught seafood on their shelves," he said. "It won't be straight away. It will take a couple of years, no doubt, but it will happen." Primary Industries Minister Tony Perrett said the decision would help grow the industry, which generated $354 million a year. Australian Marine Conservation Society's Great Barrier Reef campaign manager, Simon Miller, said he hoped the change would mean more innovation and modernisation in the industry to improve sustainable fishing practices. He said while fish stocks for a number of species caught in Queensland had returned to sustainable levels, it was not the case for all of them. "We need to maintain that ambition that we're trying to make sure we've got plenty of fish in the sea for both commercial and recreational fishers to catch, but also to maintain that function in the ecosystem," Mr Miller said. Mr Perrett said 93 per cent of Queensland's fishing stocks had been identified as sustainable. "The other ones, we're working through at the moment and we're seeing some positive results," he said. Mr Perrett said plans to ban gillnet fishing from the Great Barrier Reef by 2027 had not changed. "The NX licences, those interim licences were put in place, that all stays the same," he said. For Mr Bobbermen, the announcement was the first step in regaining confidence in the industry. "This is the first brick in a big wall that needs to be rebuilt, so it's just the first step," he said.
