What do salmon, sardines and south east marine parks have in common?
They’re all happening today!
There’s never a dull moment in rec fisher land and today is a cracking example.
1. Huon Aquaculture to medicate fish with antibiotics in lower D'Entrecasteaux
The salmon industry has responded to our request to be notified about antibiotic use in real time so that fishers can make informed choices about their fishing. Today, Huon notified us that they will commence medicating their salmon in the lower D’Entrecasteaux (read their statement here).
We’ve spoken to the Director of the EPA, Wes Ford, and the risk to people from consuming fish around the salmon pens is believed to be low (read the FSANZ risk assessment here) and they will be undertaking independent monitoring to determine presence in the environment - we’re told the report for that will be publicly available once complete.
So the message is - yes, you can keep fishing and eating your catch but it is your choice and if you have concerns about your specific circumstances, speak with your GP beforehand.
2. South East Marine Park Plan quietly released today.
New marine park management plan released!
TARFish made a strong submission to the proposed changes to the south east marine parks and particularly to the Freycinet Marine Park that proposed a substantial lock out around Joe’s reef. Well, we had a win there and they have accepted our recommendation to zone it Habitat Protection so rec fishing is still permitted. It didn’t all go our way though, every other recommendation we made was rejected. You can check out a side by side map of the changes here. And Here is a link to the full south east marine park management plan - scroll down to the very bottom of the page.
3. TARFish seeking 3 members for sardine reference committee
Keen to do your bit for rec fishing? You can help TARFish develop it’s position on sardines and provide advice to the TARFish Board as the process progresses and more information becomes available. You’ll need to attend to be able to online meetings of an evening (we won’t have too many!), have time to read documents and provide your views, keep an open mind and act with integrity and respect, and you MUST be a current TARFish member of course.
To express your interest, all you need to do is submit a contact form (found here) and tell us a bit about you and your fishing, why you’re interested in being on the reference committee and any special knowledge or expertise that may assist the committee. Expressions of interest close on Friday 21 February so don’t delay, express your interest today!