Felicity Ogilvie reported this story on Friday, July 20, 2012 12:54:00

ASHLEY HALL: Recreational fishers in Tasmania are preparing to take their toughest stand yet against a super trawler, seeking approval to fish in Australian waters.



At 142 metres long, the Dutch-owned vessel will be the largest ship to ever fish in Tasmanian waters.



It will berthed in Tasmania and operate with a local company to catch up to 18,000 tonnes of small fish.



That quota will allow the super trawler to fish along a large tract of the Australian coast.



But Tasmanian fishers are worried the trawler is so big it will take the entire quota in local waters.



Felicity Ogilvie reports from Hobart.



(Sound of seagulls)



FELICITY OGILVIE: The Hobart builder, Tyson Clements, is one of 500 recreational fishermen in Tasmania who are planning to take to the streets tomorrow to protest against the super trawler.



TYSON CLEMENTS: Look, I think this stems right back to a lot of us guys get fishing passed down through our families. It is an experience that you can't shake. It is in your blood and we love it, it's our passion, it's why we go to work. And when somebody stands up and tries to take away the most meaningful thing to you that they can, I think there's a lot of emotion and passion comes out. And that's why I think so many people are standing up.



FELICITY OGILVIE: What is it that you think this super trawler could take away from you?



TYSON CLEMENTS: There's no question, it has the potential to take away or devastate our fishery on the east coast.



And I think this is important for people to understand that this is only Tasmania standing up at the moment but this fishing trawler has the capacity to go up the east coast of Australia to Queensland, places like Port Stephens, Port Lincoln, across to Western Australia. It will attack all the areas where the game fishing happens and I think everyone needs to understand that.



FELICITY OGILVIE: The large trawler is steaming towards Tasmania. It doesn't have permission to fish in Australian waters yet.



If it's granted a licence, the company, Seafish Tasmania, will use the super trawler to catch its quota of fish including mackerel and redbait.



But the super trawler's presence has stirred unease amongst local fishers.



Last week the director of Seafish Tasmania, Gerry Geen, addressed their concerns about overfishing.



GERRY GEEN: This fishery will be sustainable. It's based on good science and I have a lot of faith in Australian, the quality of Australian fishery science. And it's not Seafish Tasmania who are saying that this is going to be sustainable, it's fishery scientists and it's the Australian Fisheries Management Authority.



FELICITY OGILVIE: Some of the science that was used to set the fishing quota was provided by the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies at the University of Tasmania,



Professor Colin Buxton is the director of the fisheries at the centre



COLIN BUXTON: And we're very confident that the allowable catch that has been set is very conservative, and therefore we don't believe that there is any risk of overfishing at all.



FELICITY OGILVIE: But recreational fisherman, Tyson Clements, doesn't trust the science.



TYSON CLEMENTS: My understanding this quota hasn't been met for some time now. And this quota will be reached very quickly with this boat in a time that's never been reached before. And there's a lot of questions around this that just aren't answered and we're being told to trust science. And I don't believe that the public is buying it.



FELICITY OGILVIE: The Australian Fisheries Management Authority says in recent years the total allowable catch hasn't been met for most of the species that will be targeted by the super trawler.



Professor Colin Buxton says some of the science used to set the new fishing quota is eight years old. Opponents of the super trawler have been calling for an update of the fishery.



Professor Buxton says that survey will start in October, and the company, Seafish Tasmania, will contribute $400,000 towards it.





COLIN BUXTON: And that assessment will put us in a position of saying more definitively how big the stock is. But as I say the way in which the total allowable catch has been set to date, has been to base it on a very, very conservative estimate, only 7.5 per cent of the standing biomass will be exploited.



FELICITY OGILVIE: Can the public trust IMAS's research though if it is being funded by the company that will be doing the fishing?



COLIN BUXTON: Well, the company is not contracting us to do the research. The company is actually giving the money to the government and the government is contracting us to do the research. So I would hope that the answer to your question is yes.



FELICITY OGILVIE: The Australian Fisheries Management Authority says that in accordance with government policy, research is often paid for by industry members through fishery levies.



The super trawler's application is still being assessed.



ASHLEY HALL: Felicity Ogilvie.