The Lakes Entrance Fishermen’s Co-operative has welcomed news that a seismic survey proposed for Bass Strait has been halted by a Federal approval agency.
Chief executive officer of the co-operative, Brad Duncan, said had the seismic survey gone ahead it would have likely wiped out the co-operative.
The National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) ruled it was “not reasonably satisfied” with the proposal.
“It would have been devastating for our industry, we would have been six months without fishing,” Mr Duncan told the Post.
“The fishermen would’ve had to leave the area, boats would have been sold, livelihoods would have been threatened and the co-operative and the town would have been in huge trouble.”
Mr Duncan says seismic testing can have a detrimental impact on fishing stocks.
“The fish might not have returned because of the seismic booms and we really don’t know what affect it has on smaller fish stocks or eggs, it could wipe them out completely,” he said.
Federal Member for Gippsland, Darren Chester, also welcomed the announcement, having raised serious concerns about the proposal with his Federal Parliamentary colleagues and with the State Government directly.
“I’m pleased that the key decision makers have listened to our fishermen and industry representatives,” Mr Chester said.
“The industry underpins our local economy and as a vital employer for our region has my full support.”
A 2014 evaluation found that the direct output generated from the commercial fishing industry and related industries in East Gippsland to be about $35 million a year.
Gippsland East MP, Tim Bull, also welcomed the decision by the Federal agency to ban the seismic survey in Bass Strait.
“Under the proposal, the industry was being asked to leave fishing grounds for five months and then accept lower catch rates for a year or more following the survey,” Mr Bull said.
“Some fisheries, such as the Danish seine fishery would have had all their grounds affected.”
Mr Duncan agreed, saying the seismic survey would have been a huge disruption to the Danish seine fleet because the area proposed for the testing was “in their grounds out to the shelf”.
“The fishermen are pleased with the result, but there were some hairy times for a while,” he said.
Mr Duncan said common sense had prevailed and a foreign company had been prevented from “doing the testing and selling off to the highest bidder before leaving”.
While there is an opportunity for a new proposal to be submitted, Mr Chester has vowed to continue to work with the Lakes Entrance Fishermen’s Co-op, Leftrade Limited, Seafood Industry Victoria and the South East Trawl Fishery Industry to advocate on their behalf.
