CEO Message – Marine park announcement highlights the need for industry unity
This month in conjunction with the South Coast Conference, Melbourne Cup Day and the American Election, Minister Whitby announced the highly contentious South Coast Marine Park.
It has been a long hard-fought battle for a five per cent gain for commercial fishers, and while this does not sound like much of a concession, 20 per cent no-take sanctuary zones is better than a 25 per cent, or 30 per cent no -take zones that the eco-activists were seeking.
It really is revealing when you have to celebrate a “it’s not as bad as it could have been” outcome, yet here we are.
The sad reality is for those who will lose critically important fishing grounds that underpin the viability of their businesses, it’s a 100 per cent loss. And now we still have to work with totally inadequate compensation processes to seek the best possible outcome for these fishers. Fishers who have been operating sustainably on the south coast for generations, and let’s face it have done nothing wrong. They are now the collateral damage of a politically-motivated marine park.
It’s a trying time and it’s a time to look out and support each other. To open doors to this process, WAFIC is working with a number of professional support organisations, including Stay Afloat and Regional Men’s Health Initiative to attend events and share information on mental health and wellness. We are all in the same boat and we need to keep an eye on ourselves, as well as our colleagues, families and friends during these changing times.
Faced with the possibility of more marine parks in the near future, WAFIC is going to push harder with our public education and social licence campaigning, working hand-in-hand with other sector bodies.
Commercial fishing is a sustainable and renewable industry and we need to share our stories.
On that note WAFIC is appointing a social media and marketing expert to run a relentless campaign of news articles, memes and promotions on the value of the commercial fishing industry. We may even do some business profiling to highlight the benefits of commercial fishing in your local community. We will be calling for volunteers to be involved with this, so stay tuned. Details to be announced imminently.
We will also be distributing a simple election policy fact sheet capturing the key election asks necessary to support a strong and viable commercial fishing industry into the future. You may find this information useful when discussing the broader objectives of the commercial fishing sector with your local Members of Parliament.
November has also been the month for Annual Management Meetings – some, ironically being the first ’annual’ meeting in more than five years. For me personally, these meetings have provided a wonderful opportunity to meet so many of you. I have made connections with many fishers on the South Coast and next week I will be taking a trip up to Geraldton and Carnarvon to meet the fishers up there.
I would love to include some site visits and personal visits too wherever possible, so please keep the WAFIC team informed.
Anyway that’s a wrap, Mel signing off until next month.