As per the press release of Queensland Seafood Association (QSIA) industry leather urged the state government fish inspectors should have good fisheries management skills and should be on beat more often. Professional fishermen have called on the government to raise funding for fisheries inspectors. Michael Gardner, President of the QSIA, said that policing by inspectors from Queensland Boating & Fisheries Patrol (QBFP) is vital to good fisheries management.
Gardner also told that it would be better for QBFP inspectors to receive sufficient funds to operate on the water at any time of day and any day of the week. He added that without active policing by inspectors, fisheries regulations are ust words on paper. He was commenting on the reports that fisheries inspectors had been ordered not to work week nights or weekends to save money.
The press communiqué says that the QSIA has been concerned about reports of funding cuts for the Boating & Fisheries Patrol for at least a year. This means that fisheries inspectors were leaving vessels tied to the wharf for lack of fuel and cutting back their patrol hours because of reduced overtime allowances.
According to Gardner QSIA is willing to help and has wanted policing blitzes at strategic times and places along the coast. He says that seafood production is a valuable industry that deserves proper protection by effective policing, and that means providing adequate funding for the Queensland Boating & Fisheries Patrol.
