Commercial fisherman starts digital publication
Peninsula commercial fisherman Mr Dane Van Der Neut has started an online publication to publicise the interests of the commercial fishing industry.
"I started Commercial Fishing Media to raise awareness of the plight of Australian professional fishermen and to help gain recognition for consumers as key stakeholders in the marine resource.
"I will be starting a fortnightly program covering seafood, fishing politics, cross sector unity and will take live callers on commercialfishingradio.com.
"The program will be aired on Facebook live and will be uploaded to YouTube as well," he said.
"Historically professional fishing has been a very proud tradition.
"There is something quite special about making it your life purpose to feed a nation," Mr Van Der neut said.
"As the true custodians of the marine resource, our professional fishing families have improved their methods of harvest for decades by regulation, legislation and self-preservation.
"These factors have improved the long-term sustainability for seafood consumption in Australia and have made us one of the most sustainable in the world.
"Our small scale and family heritage is under threat and has been for decades with politicians and bureaucrats legislating to benefit radical minority groups, subsequently removing the Australian public's rights to eat locally caught seafood.
"Extreme environmentalists and recreational fishing lobbyists have undermined the continued efforts of the professional fishermen.
"In the early 2000s, a shift occurred, which started the transition of the recreational sector from a community to an industry.
"The recreational industry began to lobby government for the access of professional fishermen and seafood consumers to be removed.
"This became a reality when Eddie Obeid was Minister, creating 33 Recreational Fishing Only Havens in NSW, which removed the public's access to over five million servings of locally caught seafood each year.
"The environmental lobby also had success in the creation of several Marine Parks throughout Australia, the success was widely stated by the lobby groups, what wasn't stated was the heartache felt by the families that were bullied and discriminated against through the process and also the locally caught seafood servings lost, which was in the multiple millions.
"Since 2004 consumers have lost access to over 330 million servings of Australian locally caught seafood per year.
"Election campaigns will heat up with more propaganda from the extremist recreational fishing lobby.
"New South Wales consumers could potentially lose a further 30 million servings of locally caught seafood per year through a grossly mismanaged reform process."
SOURCES:
Media release, 10 May 2017
Dane Van Der Neut, Commercial Fishing Media