An Independent candidate for Gippsland East @Matt.Stephenson,  is the only one so far who has thrown his hat in the ring to support this campaign and it's purposes. The Gippsland Lakes fishery is no longer one of abundance and is struggling to support both the commercial and recreational sector. Black bream which used to provide 80% of the income to commercial fishers has reduced to an all time low of 12.9 tonne shared between 10 licence holders.  The most recent recreational angler diaries  (highly experienced anglers) identified a catch rate of 1 legal fish every 5 hours at the lower ends of the major rivers.  We know from recent economic studies on Commercial Fishing 2014, Recreational Boating 2014 and Recreational fishing 2015,  that recreational fishing and recreational boating will bring greater prosperity to all the townships around the Gippsland Lakes. This economic benefit is not just applicable to Lakes Entrance which is why we have held our 7 community meetings so far from Loch Sport to Lakes Entrance.  We know that to kick start recovery of the recreational fishing sector the Gippsland Lakes will need to be restocked with iconic species fingerlings, as are other waterways in Victoria, as part of the current Governments Target One Million program. Half a million Australian bass have already been restocked to date into the rivers feeding the Lakes. A breeding program for Victorian Estuary perch is underway and we hope to see restocking soon with this species as well. Funding for this program is from the recreational licence fees trust fund. These fish stocked for recreational anglers using recreational licence fees cannot be allowed to enter commercial nets.  There is also an urgent need to be tackle the declining ecology of the Lakes, holistically, rather than bit by bit as is occurring at the moment to improve natural recruitment. This will require some rigorous research and  commitment  to recommendations with measured  to get this once purely estuarine system covering nearly 400sqkm back to health.