Norman Moore was the fisheries minister in the first term of
the Colin Barnett government from 2008 to 2013. Although referred to by some
sections of the media as the fossil or dinosaur, Norman remained (and probably
still remains) a key powerbroker within the Liberal Party.
But one decision he made as fisheries minister made little
sense: the introduction of recreational boat fishing licenses. But now we can
understand why this decision was made, thanks to an article in the West
Australian dated March 26 (page 4).
The retired minister was quoted as saying that WA’s
commercial fishing fleet could largely vanish as the sector comes under
increased pressure from green groups and recreational anglers. Now it all
becomes clear. Blame green groups for locking up maybe 10 or 20% of commercial
fishing grounds around WA’s coast; and blame recreational anglers for, well, it’s
hard to be specific but the former minister simply says they’re to blame for further
restricting professional anglers.
Bollocks! The push for marine reserves within state and
federal marine waters is a direct response to over-fishing by all sectors of
the industry and the resulting reductions in fish stocks. Norman admits that ‘cutting
catch hauls was necessary in some circumstances, such as when he halved western
rock lobster quotas in 2008 on the back of plummeting baby crayfish numbers’. This
catch reduction had nothing to do with marine reserves and precious little to
do with recreational fishing. It was all about resource depletion, either
though natural causes (changed currents and reduced settlement of larval
crayfish) or overfishing.
But, in politics, two things are sacrosanct. One is the need
to continue to tap industry on the shoulder for campaign donations during state
elections. The other is to blame everyone and everything for the problems of an
industry that has to adjust to modern times, and the recreational fishing
industry is fair game.
I’ve been a fisheries inspector for 3.5 years. I’ve been a
member of Parliament for 8 years. My electorate of Vasse took in some of the
more contentious fights between commercial and recreational fishing – crabbing,
bait fish netting, trawling and giving commercial salmon fishers preference in
Geographe Bay.
I’ve seen it all and the recreational boat fishing license
is all about spin – see, we’re doing something to conserve fish stocks – and reducing
recreational fishing pressure by increasing direct costs and making it more
difficult for recreational fishers to catch a feed.
In the lead-up to the March 9, 2013, election, I prepared
but never used the following newspaper ad:
I thought about
putting my small dingy in the water to try and catch a few crabs recently. But then
I realised I needed six different government-issued licenses or permits to do
this:
·
a driver’s license to drive
the boat and trailer down to the boat ramp
·
a registered vehicle
·
a licensed boat
trailer
·
a registered boat
·
a skipper’s ticket AND,
·
thanks to the current
government, I now also need a Recreation Fishing from Boat License.
There are lots of problems
with this poorly conceived boat fishing license:
1.
you can apply and pay
for a license on-line, but you must wait until the receipt arrives before you
can go boat fishing. Bad luck if your friends or family arrive for the weekend and
want to drop a line in - you can’t go fishing until you receive a receipt for
your on-line payment.
2.
it must cost the
Fisheries Department 20 or 30% of the money received from these licenses to administer
them.
3.
Fisheries Inspectors
used to be educators and law enforcement officers but now they’re also clerical
staff, with their first priority being to check if you have a valid license.
Not only has Norman Moore made a significant useless
contribution to the nanny state by creating the recreational boat fishing
license but he’s reduced the recreational catch, turned fisheries inspectors
into clerical staff and made himself look the hero in the eyes of the
commercial fishing industry. Well done, Norman, you’re replaced the need to
implement sound fisheries management with a bureaucratic solution that really
does little for the fishing industry in WA.
Yes, I admit to being a little annoyed at the former
minister, but his primary failing was his unwillingness to support the creation
of marine parks over places such as the Minninup reef system in Geographe Bay north
of the mouth of the Capel River. It’s under intense fishing pressure and needs
better management, something that would have come from its declaration as a marine
park (not as a no-take zone, mind you, just as an area with special marine values).
