So what "will" be affected by removing the "Designated Great Sandy Area - Red Cross Hatching" throughout the Great Sandy Marine Park ? ...

To clarify what WILL BE affected by the NEW Re-Zoning Plan for the Great Sandy Marine Park & debunk some of the propaganda from the commercial sector suggesting the non-fishing general public will not have access to fresh "local fish".

NOTE: "Locally Caught" - apparently suggests it has to have been caught within Australian waters - It Does NOT necessarily mean it was actually caught in the region/area you are purchasing it in. Apparently, "Fresh" suggests it should not have been frozen at ANY stage prior to you purchasing it...

REMOVING the "anomaly" that WAS the "Great Sandy Designated Area - Red Cross Hatching " WILL NOT AFFECT: -

• Trawler fishing - Which mostly ALL occurs outside of the Great Sandy Designated Area (with the exception of a couple of beam trawl operators)
• Prawns – Otter Trawling ALL occurs outside of the Great Sandy Designated Area (with the exception of a couple of beam trawl operators & some stripe nets in the Mary River)
• Scallops & bugs - Which ALL occurs outside of the Great Sandy Designated Area
• Spanner crabs – which are harvested outside of the Great Sandy Area
• Fish and prawns sustainably farmed commercially in Queensland and the Northern Territory
• Commercial Line Fishing IE: Mackerel, coral trout etc.
• The FCFA supports commercial line fishing in the Great Sandy Area by “long-term local operators” on a Permit & quota basis
• The FCFA supports ‘Continued commercial crabbing in the Great Sandy Area by “long term local operators” on a Permit & quota basis

IT WILL AFFECT & REMOVE Commercial Gill Netting!

Unfortunately, truth and facts have been largely absent in the public campaign being waged against the Review of the Great Sandy Marine Park.

Like it or not, Queensland purchasers and consumers of fresh fish are choosing to buy product largely based on price position in the marketplace, not place of origin. Go into any supermarket and look in the seafood cabinet and you are unlikely to find any fresh fish for sale caught by the inshore commercial netting sector. But you will find ample supplies of farmed and imported fish for sale.

ABS figures reveal that approx 70% of seafood purchased by Australians is through major supermarket chains. Supermarkets only stock products with high sales records, so if there really was a strong demand for local fresh fish among consumers, they most certainly would be catering to it – but they aren’t because that market segment is so small as to be of little consequence to the large retailers.

So where are the fish that are being netted from our waters ending up?

The overwhelming majority of the catch is immediately dispatched and sold into southern and some international markets, with a very small percentage ever sold in local fish shops and retail outlets. It’s a simple matter of economics – you always sell to the highest bidder and a buyer willing and able to take all your product. I’m sure we’d all do the same thing, and this is not something that netters should be criticized for.

The real "local" consumers of inshore fresh fish are recreational anglers who live and fish across the Fraser Coast and Wide Bay. We like nothing better than coming home after a day’s fishing with a feed of fish for the family – whiting, flathead, Blue salmon, a barra and a Doggie mackerel or three - yum!

Sadly few of us can do this these days from our inshore waters, so we buy bigger boats and head miles offshore in search of reef fish while those stocks are still in reasonable shape... #greatsandymarinepark #freshfish #seafood