Ulladulla fishermen could be forced to sell up or ship out if the Australian Federal Government proceeds with the establishment of a new marine reserve off the South Coast.<\/p>\n
A 2474sqkm marine reserve is proposed for waters off the coast of Jervis Bay and Huskinsson currently used by fisheries and Defence training.<\/p>\n
Fisherman Ross Pennisi said the marine reserve would leave local fishermen with little choice but to relocate their businesses.<\/p>\n
”If they choose to close that area, the closest I can fish is 4 hours away,” he said.<\/p>\n
”Any blokes who can move will have to. I can’t relocate because of family, so I’ll have no choice but to shut down.”<\/p>\n
The 39-year-old has been fishing since he left school 24 years ago and operates two ocean-trap and line vessels out of the Ulladulla Fishing Co-op.<\/p>\n
He said business had been dwindling over the past decades due to increasing restrictions, with a resultant fall in the number of boats and local jobs.<\/p>\n
”I should have closed down in February,” he said.<\/p>\n
”I’m hanging on by the skin of my teeth, but I employ six people. That’s six families that I’m supporting … I’ve aged 50 years in the past three.”<\/p>\n
Mr Pennisi said the increased restrictions had also led to high staff turnover as businesses struggled to produce enough catches to provide full-time positions.<\/p>\n
”I’ve had 30 different crews this year,” he said.<\/p>\n
”These boys work hard but they don’t even have the capacity to earn minimum wage.”<\/p>\n
The proposal has also raised concerns among the Bermagui fishing community, which underwent major changes due to the establishment of the 85,000ha state Batemans Marine Park in 2006.<\/p>\n
Managing director of the Bermagui Fishermen’s Co-op Rocky Lagana said compensation had ensured the local business community wasn’t disadvantaged by the change and the same assistance needed to be extended to Ulladulla fishermen.<\/p>\n
”We’re not against marine protected areas but you’ve got to be careful that they don’t impact on the towns they’re located off,” he said.<\/p>\n
2012. Fairfax Media<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":28406,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[177],"tags":[1969],"region":[44],"source":[1819],"country":[],"state":[],"city":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.icsf.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newss\/35429"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.icsf.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newss"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.icsf.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/newss"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.icsf.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.icsf.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newss\/35429\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.icsf.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35429"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.icsf.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35429"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.icsf.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35429"},{"taxonomy":"region","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.icsf.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/region?post=35429"},{"taxonomy":"source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.icsf.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/source?post=35429"},{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.icsf.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=35429"},{"taxonomy":"state","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.icsf.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/state?post=35429"},{"taxonomy":"city","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.icsf.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/city?post=35429"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}