Arabic version: حظر الشباك الخيشومية يثير مخاوف شركات المأكولات البحرية في شمال كوينزلاند

According to ABC News, north Queensland seafood businesses and commercial fishers are warning that the planned end of gillnet fishing in the Great Barrier Reef zone could lead to shop closures and retirements. Queensland and federal governments committed in 2023 to phase out gillnets in the zone, with temporary NX licences due to expire on June 30, 2027.

In Ayr, Heather and Peter Bradford say their seafood business serves locally caught seafood to about 150 families each week but may not survive without gillnet fishers. Mr Bradford said netting accounts for 80 per cent of the business and that the shop would probably have to close next year if it was removed.

Gillnets catch fish including barramundi by their gills. Licensed fishers received financial assistance when the phase-out was announced, while temporary NX licences allowed gillnet use under strict on-board camera monitoring. The Queensland government has been trialling alternatives including trapping and line fishing, but Alva Beach fisher Neil Green said the alternative gear intended for 2027 had not been delivered. He is among 25 NX-licensed fishers in Queensland and said he could be forced to retire.

Mr Green and other fishers are seeking a three-year extension to the ban. Shadow Minister for Northern Australia Susan McDonald supports the request, saying it would let fishers demonstrate that gillnet fishing is targeted. She said the 2027 deadline would increase reliance on imports. The Bradfords said they had previously been unable to compete with major supermarkets on imported seafood prices.

The Australian Marine Conservation Society opposes an extension. Its Great Barrier Reef fisheries campaign manager, Simon Miller, said the NX fishery still catches thousands of threatened species each year and urged governments to meet the June 30 deadline. Queensland Primary Industries Minister Tony Perrrett said trial work on alternative gear remained important. A federal department spokesperson said gillnets would be removed from the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park from July 1, 2027, and the Australian government did not support delaying the reforms.