Every day, be it in pelting rain, searing heat or,
fingers crossed, perfect weather, thousands of South Australians cast out a =
line
in the hope of snaring a beauty.
The SA Recreational Fishing Advisory Council calculates recreational =
anglers
contribute up to $750 million towards the economy each year.
But angling participation rates are dropping – fast.
A government survey in December found the number of recreational fishers =
over
the age of five has dropped by almost a third in 10 years. In the five to
29-year age group, the decline is closer to 40 per cent.
In economic terms, the fishing council says this translates to a loss of =
$290
million a year, and the council wants more funding to ensure the decline is
reversed.
“Current funding is barely enough to pay wages,” said =
executive officer
Trevor Watts.
“The Government seems to be purely focused on advancing commercial =
fishing.
It doesn’t seem to understand recreational fishing.”
Mr Watts said there was a “contrast in fishing culture” to =
other states,
which receive far more funding from their respective governments.
He said SA spent just $5 million on recreational angling in 2008, compared =
with NSW’s $13 million (2008), Queensland’s $48 million (2009) =
and Victoria’s
$18 million (2007/08).
Mr Watts said the funding would be used to promote fishing as a =
recreation,
especially to those aged five to 29, who represented the future of the sport.
“The decline we’re seeing is due to a lack of opportunities =
and knowledge.
There are plenty of areas around that people don’t think are fishable, =
but they
are,” he said.
“We want to map the River Torrens, for one thing. There are plenty =
of spots
families can go and have a great time – but getting that information =
out there
costs money.
“Just the other day I had a little girl ring up and ask where her =
mum could
take her fishing and what she needed to go.
“I said you don’t need much at all: a cheap line and a piece =
of sweetcorn or
dough for bait would do. I told her if they couldn’t get to the beach, =
they
could drop a line in under OG road.”
However, all the funding in the world isn’t going to replenish South =
Australia’s fish stocks, which are dropping just as quickly as the =
number of
anglers. SA is home to more unique marine life than the Great Barrier Reef, =
but
less than 1 per cent of its waters is protected.
Protected species such as the western blue groper, the largest =
reef-dwelling
fish which provides ecological stability to reefs, survive despite the
decimation of their habitats and fishing pressure.
All SA’s major fish stocks are over-fished or fully-fished, with =
cockle,
abalone, rock lobster and tuna in serious decline.
With no more water between the fish, the fight over access to proposed =
marine
parks has only just begun.
“We’d love for the whole of Gulf St Vincent to be kept =
open,” Mr Watts said,
“but we know that’s pretty unrealistic. At the very least =
we’d want the South
Australian shoreline kept open, so that people who can’t afford boats, =
or
families, can throw a line in wherever they want.
“The Conservation Council will probably object, given its fetish for =
seals
and sea lions.”
Object the Conservation Council did. Council spokesperson Shen Dycer said =
the
fishing body’s request was unrealistic.
“It’s an issue of balance. We’d like the zones to be =
nicely balanced between
environmental needs and the economic needs of the state,” she said.
“Most existing boat ramps and jetties will remain open, as will most =
iconic
fishing beaches. But there will be some areas of the coast that need
protection.”
But science is in no doubt that SA fish stocks are declining.
Only 1 per cent of the state’s coast and ocean are protected, =
compared with
25 per cent of its land.
SA recreational fishers remove more than 6.5 million fish and 3.3 million
marine shellfish from our oceans every year. Ms Dycer said this meant more =
than
six in every 10 mulloway, one in every two whiting and four in 10 squid =
swimming
in our seas are taken every year.
There’s now a lot more water between the fish, and they need as much =
help as
they can get.
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