Media release. Net Buy Back.
Media Statements
Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
The Honourable John McVeigh
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
East Coast net fishers invited to sell licences
Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry John McVeigh is inviting net fishers along the East Coast to consider an offer to buy back their licences.
Mr McVeigh said starting this week, commercial net fishers would receive invitations for the East Coast Commercial Net Fishing Reduction Scheme.
“The Queensland Rural Adjustment Authority, which is administering the scheme, will provide the terms of the offer and information about the scheme including how to submit an offer,” Mr McVeigh said.
“The first invitation for offers focuses on primary commercial fishing boat licences endorsed with N1 or N2 fishery symbols – these symbols authorise the use of commercial nets in Queensland’s East Coast Inshore Fin Fish Fishery.
“These licences are targeted to meet the Government’s election commitment to reduce the number of commercial net licences. We’ve committed $9 million to remove as many licences as possible.
“Industry has asked for a 50 per cent reduction of net licences - we’ll work towards this target.
“We know what licences are currently trading for, so we’ll be able to ensure offers are assessed based on the current market value to make sure only reasonable offers are accepted.”
Mr McVeigh said the voluntary, competitive tender process would ensure the fairest and best outcome across the fishery, rather than targeting specific areas and individuals.
“The purpose of the buyback is to reduce the total net fishing effort along the Queensland East Coast, not drive fishers into smaller areas or put pressure on effort in other fisheries,” he said.
“To ensure there isn’t any transfer of fishing effort between fisheries, licence holders will be required to offer a Commercial Fishing Boat Licence with their N1 or N2 fishery symbol.
“The buyback will run from 26 November 2012 to 11 January 2013. QRAA will assess the offers and advise whether they have been accepted.
“I encourage all eligible licence holders to seriously consider this opportunity.”
For further information, visit www.qraa.qld.gov.au or call QRAA on Freecall 1800 623 946.
[ENDS] 14 November 2012
Media: Louise Gillis – 0408 709 160
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At last something positive coming out of this new government. Hopefully they can handle the process effectively. I think I would have preferred certain locations closed to inshore netting. Say Coolangatta to Cooktown for starters
A Proud Member of
"The Rebel Alliance"
Thanks Phill,Originally Posted by Lucky_Phill
Just a question concerning the highlighted sentence . Does this mean that the remaining licence holders pick up the slack ( as per tonnage ) ?
Any chance we can keep polititcs / rec v's pro out of this discussion ?
Shawn
Bloody hell , ya gotta be quick.
Shawn,
Last time the ALP ( this is non political ) bought back licences was during the MBMP zonings. What happened was they bought a bucket load of licences but only reduced the " effort " by 2%.
The important issue, that the current Govt get, is that they want to reduce " effort ".
\
It gets a bit tricky with many commercial fishers having multiple licences.
IE:
Person A can have 6 licences, and catching their TAC ( Total Allowable Catch ) for 1 or 2 licences...... If the Govt say we'll buy 2 licences off you, they still can have their TAC and pocket some good coin. So, you can have “ XYZ “ TAC...... producing only ¼ of that total 6 licences, sell ½ licences and have NO reduction in effort. That is not how it is supposed to work. We must buy back effort.
I have pushed for " taking back " licences that have not met their quota in the last couple of years. The licence can become a financial assest, despite not using it and it also gets involved in Tax issues as well.
I believe we need a commercial fishery, but also in re-designing or re-allocating areas and licences to produce a best practice and sustainable fishery. Certainly Aqua-culture and Fish Farming will be encouraged and I also believe Australia has great science in these areas.
We have to get a balance... the commercial industry is there to provide foods for the non-fishers, but by comparison, the recreational fishery is by far a larger Socio – Economic industry with far more wide ranging benefits to individuals, community and State.
I hate the fact a large portion of our great seafood heads overseas.... Live Trout industry especially and I know we can be self- sufficient, if the right balance was in place, the right incentives and really good science to assist with it all.
We have problems that are going to be hard to solve.
Example:-
Beach netting, in particular Teewah. The facts are , after a net session, the bread and butter fish are no where to be found for weeks ( months... ) , leaving the recreational anglers angry and with empty creels, but the local non-fishers are happy about the cheap and fresh supply of local caught fish. Bugga !
Estuary netting is another issue that needs a good look at, with nets again, not discriminating.
I also think Bio-Security Australia should clamp down on the rubbish seafood that hits our shores. Plonking great Aussie Seafood beside some bacteria infested, mud-farmed catfish from overseas, is just not right, especially when the O/S junk is ¼ the price.
I think by doing a net buyback and restructuring the commercial industry, we may see much better practices and the flow on from that will be a more efficient , streamlined industry that in turn will produce good food from a sustainable resource and provide the same level of income for the pro's.
It is high time the “ Licence “ issue was dealt with in a professional manner and managed by people that know what they are doing. Buying back a licence for the sake of “ buying back a licence “ is not what this is about.
Just as over the years, the way rec and pro folks fish have changed, it must keep changing to adapt to the circumstances of the fishery, the habitat and environment as well as the expectations of Queenslanders, both fishers and non-fishers.
I am not saying that the commercial industry is the cause of all fishery issues, as we know it is not, but it is a part that can be controlled and managed and from there we can look at the other issues and attempt to find ways to manage those, ie:- pollution, run-off, habitat degradation, population density and other matters.
Even though it has been rammed down the throats of this and previous Govts, I do not believe they understand the importance of our fishery as a whole. As opposed to the finite mineral resources, our fishery can be in-finite if managed well.
cheers
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Well said Phill. Unfortunatly this process needs $ devoted to managing it. I'm not sure that Noddy is going to be forthcoming with the required resources to implement the policy. I hope they have consulted with MP Mark R as its all probably out of the comfort zone for farmer McVeigh
A Proud Member of
"The Rebel Alliance"
At first glance my concerns are,
That the management fees for the Qld Rural Adjustment Authority to run this scheme could be in excess of $2mil, and that's coming out of the $9mil allocated for the buyback.
Also according to netters I spoke to, it's designed to reduce the number of netters but maintain the same overall quota. Apparently most quota can be transferred and they've been told the bit that can't will be offered to those remaining in the industry.
Rec-anglers will find the answers to these questions on the Qld Rural Adjustment Authority web site "Net Buyback" information page a little disappointing. All quota can be transferred to other licences, and you don't even have to be working your licence to sell it back.
Do I need to surrender quota units that I may hold?
No. Quota units are not able to be surrendered under this scheme.
The scheme only relates to the surrender of Queensland Commercial Fishing Boat Licences and attached fishery symbols.
Is my log book history considered in the selection process?
No. Surrender Offer Applications will be ranked on the offer amount and irrespective of the log book history recorded on the licence.
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Gees I hope this is what happens Phill.
I really hope the money is not spent to simply say....we said we'd buy back some licenses and we did.....and the 'effort' remains basically the same. Was the idea of 'effort' reduction ever mentioned?
I really hope money is spent reducing 'effort' and not licences and I really, really hope the money, or great chunks of the money, is not spent on administration. Why is money spent on administration? Who paid the people's salaries beforehand?
I really hope this is not a matter of simply robbing Peter to pay Paul's salary. ie literal $ passing.
And then I read Mike's post. It seems to indicate I'm going to be really, really disappointed.
Mike's post seems to indicate no reduction in 'effort' what-so-ever.
Did I read Mike's post right?
It seems to me smaller boats can sell their licenses and fishing symbols but quota's can be sold on the open market. Will this lead to larger trawlers? ie one license with larger quota.
I intend on living for-ever....so far so good
We are hoping to avoid what Mike has posted.
There are a couple of commercial guys making reccomendations to the Govt regarding how to reduce " effort ". Those are the ones who want to stay in the industry long-term and are prepared to " move with the times ".
There are many Pro's that " want to take the money and run ", and of course there are the " take the money, transfer quota and keep the status quo".
It's not just about the trawllers..... more concerned with River, Estuary and beach netters, I believe.
LP
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This is the bad part, if you haven't logged a quota for years and are just sitting on ya licence to wait for opportunites like the current buy back scheme, then that licence should be simply " taken Back ". Sorry if that offends or seems harsh, but it is a reality in many other industries, where Govt ( Local, State and Federal ) legislate and people lose licences, permit, contracts and income, without recourse.
LP
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there is no advantage to buying back licences - especially "dormant" ones. we have seen this before. if there is no overall quota effect, what is the point of buying back pieces of paper? i hope they think this through a bit better than last time.
fishing's as simple as 3 P's - patience, perserverance and PLASTIC!
If the government really wants to tackle this problem they need a different tact.
Offering buyback schemes are only going to be taken up by half arsed fishers that have the licence as a spare time 2nd job or the genuine guys that are thinking of retiring.
If they got off their arse and instantly closed off all avenues of import and export of seafoods, half of the fleet would close shop. As lucrative as the export industry is, it is far more damaging for the country than the number of nets in the water. The bigger the profit, the bigger the effort for a bigger return. Similarly the import industry is potentially much more damaging with the disease control and the higher wastages of foods that do not get sold before they go off.....where are they processed safely or do they get dumped into waterways via the bait line?
This country does not need to import seafood of any sort and we can better manage our resources if we stopped exports.
Jack.
I can't see the value in what they have planned if the quota is transferred. Why not look at something along the lines of compulsory aquisition of nominated licences to protect specific areas or species. Pay the holders 3 years of their taxable income as compensation. Thats more than enough time to get trained in another industry. With the competing pressures of recreational fishing and environmental degradation I think areas such as SEQ should have very little inshore net fisheries in play
A Proud Member of
"The Rebel Alliance"
The way the scheme is designed I can't think of any reason you would say this $9mil spend will deliver any real benefit to rec-anglers. It's designed by the Gov and the seafood industry to make net fishing more profitable. When you look right into it, at what they are saying to the netters and away from the public press releases, it's all about strengthening the future of pro netting. Rec fishers and their rep bodies were frozen right out in the planning stages.
This is the very 1st point in the buyback guidlines
1. Objective
The objective of the scheme is to make the East Coast commercial net fisheries more sustainable by the voluntary surrender of ‘N1’ and ‘N2’ licences under a competitive tender.
Plenty of info here
http://www.qraa.qld.gov.au/index.php...ducts&Itemid=1
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