The Australian Government is conducting five year reviews of two major Commonwealth fisheries policies, and Federal Member for Wide Bay Llew O’Brien is encouraging industry stakeholders and interested parties to provide their feedback on these policies before 3 November 2023.
“This is an opportunity for the local industry to have their say and influence policies on Harvest Strategy and Bycatch, and whether they are still effective, or need to be updated or amended,” Mr O’Brien said.
The Harvest Strategy Policy sets out principles for creating sustainable and productive harvest strategies for fisheries managed by the Australian Government, and the Bycatch Policy is intended to minimise the incidental catch of species that can’t be sold, like birds, mammals, and reptiles.
The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry has prepared a discussion paper and survey that asks specific questions about the performance of the policies, and the feedback received will be used to prepare a draft report for each policy.
The discussion paper and survey can be found at haveyoursay.agriculture.gov.au/fisheries-policy-reviews.
“Fishing is a key driver of the Wide Bay economy and professional fishers in the region will have their own opinions on the effectiveness of these policies, and the impacts they have on the productivity and sustainability of the industry, and I encourage them to have their say,” Mr O’Brien said.
