Seafood shop owners fear being forced to close due to gillnet ban

In short:

A couple running a seafood restaurant say they may be forced to close if commercial fishers leave the industry when gillnets are banned in the Great Barrier Reef Zone.

In 2023 the state and federal governments made the commitment to phase out gillnets in the zone.

Temporary gillnet licences are set to expire on June 30, 2027, with the state government running trials with fishers to find alternative fishing methods.

Business owners in north Queensland are concerned about the economic flow-on effect of the looming Great Barrier Reef gillnet ban.

Some commercial fishers fear they will have to leave the industry and seafood shops may be left with no other option than to close.

In Ayr, Heather and Peter Bradford serve locally caught seafood to about 150 families a week and say their business will not survive without gillnet fishers on the water.

"Next year we'll have to probably close the shop," Mr Bradford said.

"Cut out the netting, there's 80 per cent of our business, so we've got no other option but to close."

Gillnet ban looming

Gillnets are used to catch certain species of fish, including barramundi, by their gills.

In 2023 the Queensland and federal governments made the decision to phase out the use of gillnets in the Great Barrier Reef fishing zone by June 30 2027.

The governments provided financial assistance to licensed fishers at the time of the decision and established the temporary NX licence, which allowed fishers to use gillnets under strict on-board camera monitoring.

The state government has been working with fishers to find an alternative fishing method in the last three years, such as trapping and line fishing.

But as the expiry of the NX licences approach, no solutions have been rolled out to fishers.

South of Townsville, Alva Beach commercial fisher Neil Green said the other options trialled had not been successful so far.

"The intent was to have alternative gear running by 2027. That's been a failure," he said.

Mr Green said without change he would probably be forced to retire, but he was worried about more than his own future.

"It's not about me — it's about the next generation of fishers that are coming on that we're talking about," he said.

Push to buy more time

Mr Green is among several fishermen in the industry pushing for a three-year extension to the ban, which has the support of Shadow Minister for Northern Australia Susan McDonald.

"It will allow [the fishers] to demonstrate that gillnet fishing is incredibly targeted on the species that the fishermen are taking," she said.

Senator McDonald said the 2027 deadline would increase reliability on imports.

"If we allow more seafood to be imported from offshore, we are handing over seafood production to countries that don't have the same high standards that Australia does," she said.

Back in Ayr, Ms Bradford said importing seafood had not worked for her and her husband's business in the past.

"We couldn't compete with [the major supermarkets] price-wise, so it's not going to be viable for us at all," she said.

Ms Bradford said other small seafood businesses were in the same boat.

"Fish and chip shops will be gone, especially all up along the north coast," she said.

Threatened species at risk

Not everyone agrees that putting off the eventual gillnet ban is a viable option.

Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS) Great Barrier Reef fisheries campaign manager Simon Miller said a three-year extension of the NX licences would come at a cost to wildlife.

"The current gillnet fishery, the NX fishery, is still catching thousands of threatened species each year," he said.

"We do urge the Queensland and Australian governments to fully deliver their commitment to phase out gillnet fishing from the reef by June 30 next year."

The AMCS is against extending temporary licences but Mr Miller says there is support for finding alternative fishing gear.

"We need to be looking to the future for genuinely sustainable ways to catch these fish and put them on Queenslanders' plates, but without this impact on threatened species," he said.

Queensland Primary Industries Minister Tony Perrrett said he was aware of the calls to extend the NX licences.

"We look for solutions, that's why that trial work is important as it continues to make certain that there is alternate gear into the future," he said.

As for onshore businesses, he said the department was not at the stage of discussions for compensation for impacted businesses.

"There's still NX fishing licences in place, as was agreed to by the previous government, but it's something that we continue to watch and monitor," he said.

A federal Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water spokesperson said the Queensland government was responsible for the management, regulation and enforcement of fisheries.

The spokesperson said changes to regulations for the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park were made to support commitments by the Queensland government.

"This includes the removal of gillnets in the Marine Park from 1 July 2027… The Australian Government does not support delaying these reforms coming into effect," the spokesperson said.