Crab Bag Limits

The Hon. P. CAICA (Colton) (14:54): Goodness me, I'm up again. My question is to the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries. Minister, can you inform the house about the decrease in blue swimmer crab limits for recreational fishers?

The SPEAKER: The Speaker intends to go spotlighting for crabs off Tennyson soon and will brook no interruption in this answer.

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL (Mawson—Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Minister for Forests, Minister for Tourism, Minister for Recreation and Sport, Minister for Racing) (14:54): Thank you, Mr Speaker. I wish you well in your endeavours. I thank the member for Colton for the question, too. Obviously, he is a World Police and Fire Games double gold medallist in fishing but, also, someone who has been a fierce crusader for the recreational crab fishers he represents, not just down in his local area but the whole state. From 1 December when these changes come in, there will be a reduction in the bag limit for blue swimmer crabs. It will go from 40 crabs down to 20, and the boat—

Mr Whetstone interjecting:

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL: Forty to 20.

Mr Whetstone interjecting:

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL: I think you are out of your place with your interjection. As normal, you are out of your place.

The SPEAKER: I am watching the member for Chaffey, who has moved to the member for Unley's seat, a very dangerous place.

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL: South Australia is recognised for having very well-managed fisheries where we look after the interests of the recreational fishers as well as the commercial fishers, and we look after the ecology of our wonderful pristine waters and all those great fish that we have in those waters. We just have to look around the world at some other countries and how they have decimated their fishing stocks, and we do not want to follow them down that road. We want to ensure, just as we have for generations, that grandparents can take their grandchildren fishing and be assured that they will be able to get a fair catch.

This is a resource that is owned by all South Australians so, for those who can't get out and catch a fish or a crab, we also want to make sure that they can go to the markets or a restaurant and have access to the best seafood anywhere in the world.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Wright is warned.

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL: In the media recently, there was an erroneous claim about the commercial blue swimmer crab industry and it was claimed that the commercial sector had been able to take an extra thousand tonnes of blue swimmer crabs. That claim was not right. What I can say is there was no secret deal in relation to the management of the commercial blue crab fishery.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Newland is warned.

Mr Bell interjecting:

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL: Member for Mount Gambier, I said it is an erroneous claim. It wasn't me making the claim. Some fishers made—

Mr Pengilly interjecting:

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL: If you stop interrupting, I will get onto it.

The SPEAKER: The member for Finniss is called to order. The minister will cease his provocative silence.

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL: There was no secret deal in relation to the management of the commercial blue crab fishery in Gulf St Vincent. PIRSA runs an annual process to set the total allowable commercial catch for the commercial fishery using a harvest strategy contained in the management plan for the South Australian commercial blue crab fishery. The management plan includes proportional catch allocations to the commercial, recreational and traditional sectors, which is 70 per cent commercial, 29 per cent recreational and 1 per cent traditional. These catch allocations are established to provide certainty to all user groups about their level of access to the resource and are based on the best available information at the time a management plan is developed. This is a requirement of the Fisheries Management Act 2007.