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Commercial fishing industry 'killing itself'
07/16/03
By ROBERTA MANCUSO
THE commercial fishing industry will be a thing of the past within the next 30 years, an internationally renowned marine biologist says.
Sylvia Earle, environment adviser to former US president Bill Clinton, said yesterday reefs across the world were showing alarming wear and tear and could not sustain the present commercial fishing load for much longer.
"Large-scale commercial fishing is something that will soon be history in one way or the other," she said. "I'd give it 30 years if it continues at this present level.
"I don't see commercial fishing as something that you should encourage youngsters coming along and engaging in because I think the future of it is about as bright as that as buffalo hunters and wild bird commercial takers."
In Townsville on the eve of the launch of the Federal Government's State of the Reef report, Dr Earle said commercial fishing was not done in a sustainable manner anywhere in the world.
This was despite evidence the number of large fish had dwindled to 10 per cent of what it was 50 years ago.
But Queensland Seafood Industry Association spokesman Duncan Souter said Australia was a world leader in sustainable fisheries management and Dr Earle was making unhelpful generalisations.
"Fishers in Australia have always had a clean, green reputation," he said.
"The sector has a very bright future and demand for seafood is obviously growing as it's being recognised as a health food."
Dr Earle said a fish was more valuable alive than dead and those in the commercial fishing industry could make a living by other means while people could find other foods to eat.
"When you're talking about an individual making a living, it's hard to make them face up to these other costs," Dr Earle said.
"Those fish aren't really free, they're costing all of us, and our children and those in the future."
Mr Souter said commercial fishers contributed $2.5 billion to the Australian economy and supported many coastal communities around the country.
He said it was not an industry the country could turn its back on.
Dr Earle supported the Federal Government's proposal to close 30 per cent of the Great Barrier Reef to fishing but said the closures did not go far enough.
"If we are to feed ourselves, to enjoy lifestyles to our liking, we've really got to evaluate the actions that we're taking towards the natural systems that support us all," she said.
Environment Minister David Kemp, who was also in Townsville yesterday, said the State of the Reef report would show the Great Barrier Reef was under continuing pressure.
Editorial
Townsville Bulletin
07/03/03
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