TARFish delivering wins for recreational fishers

The Tasmanian Association for Recreational Fishing (TARFish) continues to gain momentum, delivering clear results for recreational fishers according to CEO, Jane Gallichan.

“We have secured some significant wins for recreational fishers recently. Overturning of the abalone rules that would have halved recreational abalone bag and possession limits, most notably.

“This is a milestone for recreational fishers and, we believe, an unprecedented overturning of fishing rules in the Legislative Council and I thank Meg Webb and all the Legislative Councillors that supported our position.

At direct request from recreational fishers, TARFish strongly advocated for the recently adopted Rock Lobster rules relating to catch sharing and transiting provisions. This is another major win for fishers.

“It is important that our members, recreational fishers generally and the government specifically know where we stand on key issues and that we will work relentlessly to have them implemented,” she said.

Southern calamari is shaping up as the next big issue and TARFish has just released it’s position which was developed in consultation with members and fishers from around the state and is available from their website.

Southern Calamari stocks have been assessed as ‘depleting’, driven in large part by commercial fishing targeting spawning aggregations across northern Tasmania and total catches that exceed a sustainable level.

“Our top priority is to return the calamari fishery to a sustainable level in a way that protects recreational fishers’ access,” said Jane Gallichan. Calamari is not the only issue in the pipeline for TARFish in the year ahead.

“The review of the Living Marine Resources Management Act, development of a new harvest strategy and resource sharing agreement for abalone, and a rebalance of the East Coast catch available to recreational rock lobster fishers will all be addressed in the next twelve months.

“While that work is necessary and pressing, I will be focussing on flathead this year. A depleting fishery over a number of years, it is at serious risk, particularly in the south-east. We will be advocating for action now. We will be advocating for a decent amount of funding to deliver a flathead recovery program and we will only support a fisher-led stewardship program”, she said www.tarfish.org

“The only way we can help protect the rights and aspirations of recreational fishers is if we know what they want. Your contributions are massively important to us and are a crucial part of the process to secure wins and deliver results for recreational fishing,’ she concluded.

If these issues sparked your interest or you have one you want TARFish to take up, make sure you become a TARFish member by visiting their website. This will allow you to be on the frontline of emerging topics and adds weight to your feedback.