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The Northern Territory government says "urgent action" is needed to restore depleted stocks of golden snapper — but has ruled out introducing recreational fishing licences and boat licences.
The government's latest "Golden Snapper Stock Assessment", shows the snapper population was depleting in the Greater Darwin Region, which suggests there has been no improvement since similar reports more than a decade ago.
NT Fisheries Minister Gerard Maley said a "robust recovery plan" and some "tough decisions" were needed to restore stocks to sustainable levels.
“There are a number of options available to improve stock numbers and all of these will be considered in detail with stakeholders,” he said.
David Ciaravolo is the chief executive of the Amateur Fishermen's Association of the Northern Territory. (ABC News: Ian Redfearn)
What can be done?
The Amateur Fishermen's Association (AFANT) is holding its annual general meeting this week — and snapper stocks are a big topic.
AFANT chief executive David Ciaravolo said measures introduced in 2015, such as area closures and a possession (bag) limit of three snapper per person, were "not on track to bring about the recovery" of the species.
He said there was no evidence the area closures had made a difference.
His organisation feels a holistic approach is needed that includes investment in a behavioural change campaign for fishers, and building more fish habitats to boost productivity.
"We really do need to see everyone involved in this fishery pulling their weight," he said.
"There's going to be some pain here in the future, but if we're not doing everything, then I think we're going to have pain for longer."
An 88cm golden snapper caught in Darwin waters. (Offshore Boats - Darwin Reef and Sportsfioshing Charters)
Don't mention the L word
It might surprise those who live outside of the Northern Territory that recreational fishers do not need a fishing licence or a boating licence.
Previous attempts to introduce alcohol restrictions on NT boaties were quickly reversed and viewed as political suicide.
The chief executive of the NT Seafood Industry Council, Daniel Capps, said golden snapper was not a target species for the commercial industry.
That meant the future of golden snapper stocks would rely heavily on changes within the recreational fishing sector and the fishing tourism sector.
"I'll probably get shot for suggesting this, but it's difficult to understand how many fishers you have on the water without a licence system," he said.
"I know it's very unpopular and I'm not saying it's the solution, but we really need to get a better understanding of what's happening on the water and in the fishery."
Mr Ciaravolo said fishing licences were "not a silver bullet to the slow recovery of golden snapper".
"While we [AFANT] do not have an explicit position for or against fishing licences, it's important to understand some key factors," he said.
"The NT has about 60,000 fishers compared to around 700,000 in WA, 850,000 in Victoria and 1 million in NSW.
"This means that any revenue won't be transformative in the NT and would require significant co-investment from government.
"Fishing licences have not prevented major sustainability issues recently occurring around the country, including in WA with reef fish and in NSW with jewfish."