Where does the future lay for our fish that most australians buy from the local shop and the supermarkets??
If we kill off the commercial fishers in this country all of our market demand will be met by external sources dumping thier less than ideal wares onto our shelves. Eventually into our waterways as the nonthinking average joe buys some bait to go fishing with.
Where is our national security for our environment protected by removing the commercial sector?
I think that if we make a move to stop all imports of seafoods into the country and minimise exports, our environment and our fishery will be best protected.
Places can be set aside as commercial farming areas and commercial fishing areas and we could have secured zones free from commercial impact as well to protect stocks and breeding cycles.
There is a need for a commercial fishery regardless of how we recs would love there to be none around but the reality is it is for our best future if it is managed in a way to solely meet local demands, not overseas demands for fresh fish.
That leads to another point to be discussed. Should our commercial sector develop a massive canned fish export to compensate for the fresh fish export market that currently exists?
The licence sheme is there to get discussion for minimal real benefit, the big benefit comes from correctly managing the way our country sources its seafoods and how it sells its seafoods.
In my view, there need not be an import or an export market for seafoods in Australia.