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Recreational fishing is booming in Queensland, so should fishers pay a licence fee?


Hweebe

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Interesting Read -  Article out yesterday.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2021-02-24/recreational-fishing-conservation-seafood-regulations-qld-fish/13180176

"Boat trailer numbers at nine of the 48 sites surveyed by Fisheries Queensland in those months were the highest recorded since data collection began in 2016, including ramps at Yorkeys Knob, Bowen, Mackay, Gladstone, Mooloolaba and Raby Bay." - explains the weekend ramp madness on a weekend with good weather 🙂

 

 

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I'd only support a licence if there is a guarantee the revenue raised is 100% invested into improvements for rec fishers - e.g. better ramps, artificial reefs, fish restocking etc. I don't think it should be used to pay for research that is or should be undertaken by existing departments like DAF or EPA etc. Otherwise it would risk funds being directed to Green groups for their own self-serving surveys...blah blah blah.

I believe in a user pays system like the SIPS also..

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Hey Hweebe

Well I'd actually support this - providing it goes to more Fisheries Officers, and better facilities on the water. A small fee isn't much at the end of the day when it could help improve fish stocks, etc. 

I think a license would be good as well. They could show and give people brochures on size limits. Then, providing you had your license, you're going to get stung big time if you have undersize fish!

Cheers Hamish

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I pay for one in NSW anyway, even Vic when traveling so why not QLD? 

 

Use the funds for FADS, artificial reefs, better and addition patrols and better public facilities. In NSW a lot of the funds went to buying out estuary and inshore commercial licenses which has had a big positive affect on stocks, I’d support similar moves in Qld.

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@SuperHans - A balanced opinion! The pay walling of a "natural birthright" access to the common property is an interesting idea and I hadn't considered that angle before. I guess a counter to that argument is that the common property (fishing) could be said to belong to future generations as well, and licence fees (if used correctly) can help to safe guard future access to that same common property.

It really does come down to how the funds are used. I don't hold a lot of faith in politicians - either their honesty or competency. That's why I think the upsurge of new anglers as a result of the pandemic is an excellent thing! Every new angler is a potential (voting) advocate for fishing rights, and there's nothing politicians like more voters 😄. Increased numbers of anglers has its down sides certainly, but with the increased fees comes the opportunity to educate these new anglers on things like size and bag limits (which are definitely not enforced very consistently in Sydney). 

I'm definitely not a fan of over regulation, but fishing licence fees seem to work well enough in NSW. They do seem to be invested back into the sport, and overall I think it is a net-positive. I guess it depends on how much weight you place on the principal of "access by birthright" - You've got me thinking about that now. 

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The evidence I see from NSW and Vic is that the money is often well used. 

I 100% agree that there will be huge amount of wastage and it would never be a perfect model but it would be better. 

Perfect is the enemy of better... I want to have better and I don't mind paying for this. 

Better fish habitat including shellfish reefs actually produce fish ie they make fish. For every hectare of shellfish reef we restore we produce 2.5 ton of fish every year... forever. 

Money produced by fishers will go towards projects like;

  • Re snagging produces more fish.
  • Riparian planting helps to stop bank erosion and reduces sediment going into the water and this produces more fish. 
  • shellfish reefs produce fish
  • coral restoration produces more fish
  • seagrass restoration produces more fish
  • purchasing commercial licences leaves more fish 
  • Policing fishing regulations leave more fish
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If it were set up as a separate licence with all monies to into a trust similar to the NSW model it would work very well, If it would make the sip scheme redundant great care would have to be taken so that the current level of funding to freshwater fishing is not diminished. The big thing to watch is that it is set up by legislation so that greedy fingers ala cando and his sticky fingered mates cannot touch it . It MUST be set up by legislation. When Bill Byrne was the fisheries minister I thought that we has another Tom Burnes to look after the interests of rec fishos but sadly he had to resign from his portfolio due to ill health. I do not think that any other polly will have the cojones to promote a rec fishing license in QLD as there are not enough votes in it.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 02/03/2021 at 7:39 AM, Drop Bear said:

The evidence I see from NSW and Vic is that the money is often well used. 

I 100% agree that there will be huge amount of wastage and it would never be a perfect model but it would be better. 

Perfect is the enemy of better... I want to have better and I don't mind paying for this. 

Better fish habitat including shellfish reefs actually produce fish ie they make fish. For every hectare of shellfish reef we restore we produce 2.5 ton of fish every year... forever. 

Money produced by fishers will go towards projects like;

  • Re snagging produces more fish.
  • Riparian planting helps to stop bank erosion and reduces sediment going into the water and this produces more fish. 
  • shellfish reefs produce fish
  • coral restoration produces more fish
  • seagrass restoration produces more fish
  • purchasing commercial licences leaves more fish 
  • Policing fishing regulations leave more fish

Do they publish figures of income and expenditure?

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2 minutes ago, Kat said:

Do they publish figures of income and expenditure?

Here is the link to the NSW DPI Fisheries page on licence fees usage:https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fishing/recreational/recreational-fishing-fee/licence-fees-at-work#:~:text=All money raised by the,improving recreational fishing in NSW.

I can't find anything that looks like a balance sheet accounting for all fees paid, but it does detail the projects and initiatives funded by the Fishing Trusts.

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