EDITION 491
YOUR REAL INDEPENDENT LOCAL NEWS
30 MARCH 2020
Beachgoer increase sees 52 rescues at Umina Beach Umina Surf Lifesaving Club conducted 52 rescues over the weekend of March 21 and 22, when terrible surf, several rips, warm weather and Sydney beach closures saw an increase of beachgoers at the beach. Club
president
Mr
Stephen
Scahill said: “It was a very difficult weekend for members, particularly as beachgoers were spread out and not swimming between the flags. “It got to the point where patrollers ended up taking up positions along the beach all the way to Kiddies Corner to ensure
we had the coverage we needed,” Mr Scahill said. He said so much strain was placed on patrollers that the club was forced to call in off-duty members to assist. Both Surf Life Saving Central Coast and Central Coast Council opted to end their patrol season at
the end of last week. Mr Scahill admitted the sudden cessation of patrols while the beach remained open had him worried, but he was hopeful that the beach would not see a crowd like that again as the temperature cooled and the public adopted more stringent social distancing
practices. “It is a little concerning and I would definitely advise not to go swimming for the time being,” he said.
SOURCE: Interview (Dilon Luke), 26 Mar 2020 Stephen Scahill, Umina SLSC SEE PAGE 3 - Early end to patrols
Fishing operators say they struggle to stay viable Commercial fishing operators working in the waters off Patonga say they are struggling to stay viable in the wake of the State Government reforms to the industry.
They met in Woy Woy last week with Shadow Minister for Primary Industries Ms Jenny Aitchison and Member for Gosford Ms Liesl Tesch. Wild Caught Fishers Coalition secretary Ms Mary Howard said mesh fishers were suffering through a restriction on the number of days they could work.
“They are trying to cope with working on limited days and they have to balance that with weather conditions and species movement,” she said. “It doesn’t always work out comfortably and affects their ability to actually be viable. “The ability to transfer quotas across the state for mud crab fishers was meant to make the industry more viable but has had the opposite effect. “As a result of the reforms, mesh fishers can now keep crabs caught in their nets, whereas previously they couldn’t and this is impacting
crab fishers. “Changes to the shares system for prawn trawl fishers means they have had to buy more shares to keep their business going. “These moves have forced many fishermen out of the industry and put others in additional debt. “It has impacted many families on the Central Coast and elsewhere,” Ms Howard said. Mr Dane Van Der Neut has been fishing the waters off Patonga in Broken Bay and the Hawkesbury River for the past 12 years. Continued Page 8
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