No Netting Torquay

The Torquay Angling Club is taking action to create a commercial net free zone of the inshore state waters of Torquay. The commercial netters targeting our inshore waters are doing so legally, but never before have they operated in such shallow water so close to shore. 

We need to protect our local inshore fish stocks and reef environments. The action we are undertaking will not effect our local cray fisherman, it’s long cast nets close to shore we are opposed to.

We are very aware the success had by Portland and Port Fairy is solidly built around large community support, local environment groups, businesses and their fishing clubs. 

For Torquay we now need your help, the more people that sign this petition will increase our chance of success.  Please see the letter to the Hon Stevenotes below and share the link with others.

 

Hon Steve Dimopoulos                                                                              

Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events

Minister for Environment

Minister for Outdoor Recreation

 

Dear Minister Dimopoulos,

Subject: Request for creation of a No Commercial Netting Zone within the Torquay (Surf Coast) Inshore Waters

I am writing to you in regard to commercial netting in the Torquay area of State waters. The types of commercial netting allowed under Ocean Access Fishery Licences, especially with no cap on levels of take, has the potential to negatively impact our local recreational fishing, marine ecosystems and whale migration. The impact could extend from current localised recreational fishing to reputational damage for Victorian Fisheries Authority and the State. 

​The Issues

1. Transfer of commercial netting effort is impacting social licence and recreational fishing.
Some commercial operators under an Ocean Access Fishery Licence, who were subject to the Port Phillip Bay netting compensation process, are now actively netting in important recreational fishing areas within the Surf Coast region, specifically Torquay. Their netting efforts are also encroaching and impacting on other recreational anglers preferred Surf Coast locations. This is neither good policy nor fisheries management and is jeopardising a valuable recreational fishery.

2. Recreational fishing is important to Torquay and the Surf Coast Region.
Torquay is an important all weather recreational boat fishery for key fish species such as King George Whiting, Snapper, Gummy shark and more recently, Southern Bluefin Tuna. Recreational fishing in Torquay is not only important locally, but is also increasingly popular for anglers from neighbouring towns and regional cities.

With Torquay highly rated by Better Boat Victoria in the BBV regional boating strategy 2021-2030, regional communities, local businesses, local and State Governments have all promoted the Torquay recreational fishery with significant ongoing investment.

Infrastructure investment includes the following:

- Concrete launching ramp ($1m)
- Clubrooms and associated commercial facilities ($1.5m)
- Shed storage for rescue boat ($.0.5m)
- Offshore artificial reefs ($2.5m)
- Installation and regular maintenance of fish aggregating devices ($0.2m)
- New boat parking facilities ($1.5m) under construction.
The reputation of Torquay as a small boat recreational fishery and the subsequent tourism benefits are now compromised due to continued commercial netting of our traditional recreational inshore whiting and snapper grounds.

3. Compliance with the Voluntary Code of Conduct and a 'Gentleman's agreement' between Commercial and Recreational Fishing.
In 1994, a formal Code of Conduct was negotiated between government, commercial and recreational fishing to exclude commercial netting from important recreational fishing areas in Western Victoria. This was on top of a voluntary agreement that is being ignored by commercial operators. Since the increase of commercial netting in the Torquay area, experienced local anglers have noticed declining whiting and snapper stocks. Regular sightings of commercial netters became a weekly event during Winter causing disharmony within the local fishing clubs and environmental groups.

4. Key Environmental Concerns.
There are growing concerns across the broader community and environmental groups that commercial netting operations utilising the inshore waters throughout the Surf Coast Shire, will have negative impacts on the endangered Southern Right Whale migration and Bottlenose dolphins. Regular sightings of whales occur during their migratory period often swimming within a few hundred metres of the areas frequently netted. Of greater concern, are the numerous pods of fast-moving Bottlenose dolphins regularly sighted in the shallow bays. The potential for dolphin entanglement is high, given their increasing numbers and the inability of the operator to quickly remove a net two kilometres in length.

Night operations by commercial netters without a Vessel Monitoring System in place will guarantee low reporting requirements and significantly increase the risk of ongoing mammal entanglements.

5. Government Initiative - Target One Million.
TAC applauds your government’s successful 2014 initiative of having one million anglers by 2020 and given the government is maintaining a strong and active interest in recreational fishing, this request aligns with your Target One Million initiative.

6. Fresh Fish Supplies.
There are sufficient consumer supplies of affordable fresh fish provided by the licenced trawl and long-line commercial fishers. Restaurant demand in Melbourne and Sydney for whiting is being met from the Corner Inlet fishery, so there’s no justification for commercial netters to raid the few locations available to the recreational fishers.

Our Request is, that as the responsible Minster you: 
1. Instruct Victorian Fisheries Authority to immediately issue a Fisheries Notice under the Fisheries Act that extends the Regulation 144 temporal prohibition on commercial netting to Torquay for 365 days a year.
2. Amend the Fisheries Regulations 2019 to prohibit all forms of commercial netting in State waters (3kms) between Point Addis Marine Park eastern boundary to Black Rock 13th Beach.