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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2022-05-04 Daily Xml
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Snapper Fishery

The Hon. J.E. HANSON (14:44): Thank you, Mr President. May the fourth be with you, sir. My question is to the Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development. Will the minister inform the chamber about the recent release of snapper fingerlings in South Australian waters?

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, Minister for Forest Industries) (14:44): I thank the honourable member for his question and his interest in this area. The snapper is an iconic species for its delicious eating but also because it has an important role in our tourism and recreational fishing economies. While snapper is a big part of the commercial marine scalefish fishery, as one of the main target species, its impact on tourism cannot be understated, as it draws people from around the country to our regions that are famed for their proximity to fishing areas that have provided so much enjoyment to recreational fishers and families over many years.

Sadly, snapper numbers have declined over the past few years due to a range of factors and reached a critical point where the current ban was put in place until January 2023 by the previous government. Snapper fishing is currently banned until 31 January in the West Coast, Spencer Gulf and Gulf St Vincent zones, while still permitted within the South-East to all fishing sectors, with measures in place such as catch and size limits for the recreational, charter and commercial fishing industries.

It is of course understandable that many in the community, particularly within regional areas where people travel to fish snapper, want to better understand the rationale behind decisions that are taken in protecting fish stocks. That is why Labor took to the recent election a comprehensive policy around recreational fishing that included better communication with the rec fishing sector on the science behind the decisions that are made. Ultimately, sustainability will be at the heart of decision-making when it comes to protecting all marine resources under the Malinauskas Labor government. Where we can help protect and preserve our highly valued marine resources and environment, we will.

We are very lucky in this state to have dedicated officers within PIRSA and SARDI who are passionate about using their skills and knowledge to the benefit of our marine life and the communities and industries that rely on it. At SARDI's West Beach facility they have been able to crack the code, as it were, and successfully breed snapper in captivity in a major boost to restocking the depleted snapper stocks. Over the past month and in the next few weeks, close to 100,000 baby snapper, known as fingerlings, have been and will continue to be released on the Spencer Gulf on beaches that are close to seagrass habitats, where they will settle naturally in line with their usual breeding cycle.

While I couldn't attend the exciting release of the fingerlings in person due to commitments in this place, I put on the record my appreciation to the researchers at SARDI, who have worked tirelessly to ensure the snapper breeding program was as successful as it has turned out to be. This important work will lead to better outcomes for the snapper species, the marine scalefish industry, the charter industry and the recreational fishers, who all want to see this icon of our oceans returned to long-term sustainability so that generations to come can enjoy snapper, as many of us have done.

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