Future of Queensland’s seafood industry at stake
The Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries is to meet with representatives of the Queensland seafood industry this week to try and save the sector from collapse.
The impact of soaring fuel prices, the high Australian dollar and adverse weather conditions has taken its toll on fishermen but prices have stagnated – according to the Queensland Seafood Industry Association (QSIA). “These guys are getting offered prices from 20 years ago, we need to do something about that and working with the Government on what we can do about it,” QSIA President Neil Green said, according to the ABC. “Hopefully all this can come together and these guys can breath a bit easier because at the moment a lot of them are going bankrupt.”
The talks with the government are seen as desperate by the QSIA, with assistance needed to enable the fishing industry to be viable in the decades ahead. “The only … [way] we’re going to do anything about it is work cooperatively with the Government and Friday will be D-day,” Mr Green concluded.
