Call for ban on factory trawler
Conservation and commercial fishing groups are calling on the Federal Government to ban a controversial fishing trawler that docked in Albany this month from operating in Australian waters.
The Dutch-owned 95m freezer-factory vessel Geelong Star visited Albany port on April 1 and was given the green light to trawl the Small Pelagic Fishery for blue mackerel, jack mackerel, redbait and Australian sardines by the Australian Fisheries Marine Authority, pending a vessel management plan.
The Small Pelagic Fishery stretches from the Queensland-New South Wales border to just above Lancelin.
The AFMA released the Geelong Star's vessel management plan, which aims to minimise its interactions with seabirds and marine mammals and reduce risk of localised fish stock depletion, on April 8.
Under the plan, it can catch 16,566 tonnes over a year and take a combined quota of 2000 tonnes from the waters off Albany over 30 days.
Conservation and commercial fishing groups have attacked the decision and formed the Stop the Trawler Alliance.
The alliance's online petition calling on the Federal Government to ban the Geelong Star and other super trawlers from operating in Australian waters had attracted 75,375 signatures at the time of print.
Sea Shepherd Great Southern members attended a protest in Fremantle on Saturday, with others taking place across the country.
Chapter co-ordinator Jamie Kiddle said he was shocked to see the Geelong Star docked in Albany.
"I always thought it would not happen in our waters but all of a sudden this boat snuck in and was right here at our wharf," he said.
"It was an eye-opener."
Mr Kiddle said the Star's arrival sparked concern from commercial and recreational fishermen, over its potential impact on fish stocks, and marine conservation groups regarding marine life being caught in its nets.
"A boat that size can have a big environmental impact purely based on the volume they can remove from the water," he said.
"We do not need a boat that can process that amount of fish operating within Australian waters; it affects a lot of people and makes a massive dent on the marine ecosystem."
