Shooters, Fishers & Farmers Policy

Fishing is one the most popular recreational activities in NSW. Fishing promotes mental and physical health and is enjoyed by millions of Australians each year. It injects billions of dollars into the NSW economy annually and employs over 14,000 people directly and indirectly.

Fishers have increasingly become the victims of green bureaucracy gone mad, while true facts and statistics are repeatedly ignored or, even worse, misrepresented. Marine parks, sanctuary zones, marine protected areas, and locked gates are just some examples of green bureaucracy gone mad.

We believe in the viability of a sustainable commercial fishing sector, an industry which is critical to the NSW economy. Commercial fishing is critical for the supply of fresh, local seafood.

We will continue to protect traditional opportunities for fishing in NSW through feasible and fact based regulation rather than green tape and rhetoric. Fishers are often best placed to identify marine environmental issues. They are vested in the health and fertility of our marine environment.

We believe that all revenue raised through fishing license fees and fines should managed by fishers and used exclusively for the betterment of fishing in NSW.

OUR ACTION PLAN

  1. Stop the creation of new marine parks and support the existing marine parks being opened to sustainable recreational fishing.
  2. Stop the commercialisation of existing marine sanctuary zones by diving companies.
  3. Support all recreational fishing opportunities throughout NSW, including ongoing funding of community fishing safety education programs and expansion of the successful ‘Angel Rings’ placement program along the NSW coastline.
  4. Lead a review of the funding, expenditure, and overall management of the recreational fishing trusts.
  5. Pursue the government to increase the funding for recreational boating facility maintenance including creation of specific grants for amenities that cater for the elderly and disabled.
  6. Fight for fair and sustainable share of fish stock.
  7. Enhance inland fishing via improved stocking rates, reduce cold water pollution and black water flood events.

8.Support the stocking of fish species to assist and maintain fish populations, provided that quality of stock is maintained, including non-native game species.

  1. Maintain scientifically based sustainable bag and possession limits for recreational fishers, with fairer bag limits for regional fishers.
  2. Introduce measures to eliminate the threat and impact of invasive fish species such as the European Carp and mosquito fish.  10. Support initiatives and incentives for businesses to priorities the sale and use of locally caught seafood over seafood imported from overseas.
  3. Establish urban water fishing programs where most anglers live including opening selected but now closed waterways to fishing.

12. Pursue the government to review Maritime NSW and Maritime Infrastructure delivery Office (MIDO) functions and performance since merger with Transport NSW.