When is a super trawler not a super trawler?

The Australian Recreational Fishing Foundation (ARFF) is calling on the Government to honour its commitment to Australia’s four million recreational fishers and stop the Super Trawler FV Abel Tasman (Margiris) from fishing.

This follows a proposal from Seafish Tasmania to the Federal Government to modify the activities of the super trawler in an attempt to gain approval to fish in Australian waters.

According to the ARFF, any decision on whether the super trawler should fish Australian waters should not be made before the scientific assessments and reviews of Australia’s fisheries management systems have been completed.

ARFF spokesman Allan Hansard said: "We are concerned that Seafish Tasmania is trying to use technical loopholes to reclassify the Margiris so that it is not classified as a ‘super trawler’, slipping around the recent amendments to the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act to ban it from fishing.

"There is a reason Australia’s recreational fishers are strongly opposed the super trawler and that is that the science was not there on the effects of the super trawler on localised bait stocks or their movements.

"Nor do we have the required information on the implications for the marine food chain, existing recreational and commercial fishing and the communities that rely on them. We cannot make informed decisions on whether the super trawler should fish until we have that scientific, economic and social foundation.

"We ask the Federal Government to stick to its word and follow through with the process to improve the science and management of our fisheries before a decision on whether the Margiris can fish in Australian waters is made," said Mr Hansard.