More fishing bans on the way <!-- google_ad_section_end(name=story_headline) -->
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<!-- google_ad_section_start(name=story_introduction, weight=high) -->FISHING will be banned from even more sections of ocean off the NSW coast under federal government plans for a series of massive new marine parks. <!-- google_ad_section_end(name=story_introduction) -->
<!-- // .story-intro --><!-- google_ad_section_start(name=story_body, weight=high) -->The six marine parks in Commonwealth waters, which start three nautical miles offshore, will extend beyond the state government's string of marine parks in NSW-controlled inshore waters.
Maps of areas that will become Commonwealth marine parks reveal thousands of square kilometres of ocean in the Tweed and Clarence regions on the North Coast, the Hunter area and around Bateman's Bay on the South Coast.
Two Commonwealth marine parks are also planned around Norfolk and Lord Howe Islands.
The Federal Government is holding informal meetings along the coast with commercial and recreational fishers and other "stakeholders" on the parks.
The areas in the marine parks where fishing will be totally banned, along with other restrictions, have not yet been decided.
But anglers already fear their concerns about the impact of the Commonwealth marine parks on recreational fishing and the parks' economic impact on recreational fishing, and the fishing, boating and tourism industries are not being taken seriously.
One South Coast fisherman, who asked not to be named, said socio-economic impacts were not given consideration at a Bateman's Bay Commonwealth marine park consultation meeting.
Recreational Fishing Alliance of NSW chairman Malcom Poole said commercial fishers with licences to fish Commonwealth waters would apparently be compensated but recreational fishing and boat industries would not.
A report commissioned for the State Government found recreational fishing for one fish, striped marlin, of which most are caught and released, generated $112 million for the NSW economy while commercial fishing for the same species put $4.6 million into NSW.
"Recreational fishing and all it includes, tackle shops, boat makers, coastal fishing towns' tourism dollars, have a huge economic input into NSW," Mr Poole said.
"But recreational fishing is a common law right and so has no claim to compensation. One gamefishing tournament at Port Stephens generates $10 million."
A spokesman for Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett could not say whether recreational fishing would receive compensation for fishing bans.
"Just like with the NSW marine parks, we get told there are large areas in which you can still fish but of course fish aren't evenly distributed across the ocean and the no fish zones are always the best fishing spots."
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<!-- google_ad_section_start(name=story_introduction, weight=high) -->FISHING will be banned from even more sections of ocean off the NSW coast under federal government plans for a series of massive new marine parks. <!-- google_ad_section_end(name=story_introduction) -->
<!-- // .story-intro --><!-- google_ad_section_start(name=story_body, weight=high) -->The six marine parks in Commonwealth waters, which start three nautical miles offshore, will extend beyond the state government's string of marine parks in NSW-controlled inshore waters.
Maps of areas that will become Commonwealth marine parks reveal thousands of square kilometres of ocean in the Tweed and Clarence regions on the North Coast, the Hunter area and around Bateman's Bay on the South Coast.
Two Commonwealth marine parks are also planned around Norfolk and Lord Howe Islands.
The Federal Government is holding informal meetings along the coast with commercial and recreational fishers and other "stakeholders" on the parks.
The areas in the marine parks where fishing will be totally banned, along with other restrictions, have not yet been decided.
But anglers already fear their concerns about the impact of the Commonwealth marine parks on recreational fishing and the parks' economic impact on recreational fishing, and the fishing, boating and tourism industries are not being taken seriously.
One South Coast fisherman, who asked not to be named, said socio-economic impacts were not given consideration at a Bateman's Bay Commonwealth marine park consultation meeting.
Recreational Fishing Alliance of NSW chairman Malcom Poole said commercial fishers with licences to fish Commonwealth waters would apparently be compensated but recreational fishing and boat industries would not.
A report commissioned for the State Government found recreational fishing for one fish, striped marlin, of which most are caught and released, generated $112 million for the NSW economy while commercial fishing for the same species put $4.6 million into NSW.
"Recreational fishing and all it includes, tackle shops, boat makers, coastal fishing towns' tourism dollars, have a huge economic input into NSW," Mr Poole said.
"But recreational fishing is a common law right and so has no claim to compensation. One gamefishing tournament at Port Stephens generates $10 million."
A spokesman for Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett could not say whether recreational fishing would receive compensation for fishing bans.
"Just like with the NSW marine parks, we get told there are large areas in which you can still fish but of course fish aren't evenly distributed across the ocean and the no fish zones are always the best fishing spots."