The Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries is calling on commercial fishers to take care in the vicinity of the recent South East Queensland oil spill.
“We are urging commercial fishing operators to be cautious in the area where the shipping containers were lost. Any containers floating on the surface or those that have sunk to the ocean floor could cause damage to vessels and/or fishing equipment,” a spokesperson for DPI&F said today.
“While operations to track the remainder of the containers are continuing, the majority are believed to have sunk off Cape Moreton in an area which is 27 degrees 01.5 minutes south 153 degrees 36 minutes east.
“No fisheries in the area have been closed as a result of the oil spill.
“We are also asking commercial and recreational fishers to be cautious about taking catch in areas affected by the oil spill.
“There is no evidence of any fish kill in the areas and we don´t believe fish populations will be impacted by the oil spill.
“However, if fishers take a marine species that appears to have been affected by the spill they should not eat the catch, and immediately report it to DPI&F.
“To assure the community that seafood has not been affected, DPI&F is working with Queensland Health to establish a monitoring program to check on seafood caught in the areas affected.”
