Queensland’s Barlow Fisheries Department has announced a $5.5 million investment to increase productivity and increase the size of the fish catch.
The Department said the investment would help with the closure of the Barlow Sea Fisheries Reserve, which had been closed due to low sea ice extent.
“We will be investing in the Barlows Barlow and Barlow Fish Management Areas, and the management of the northern Barlow Reef, as well as improving productivity and efficiency in the fishery, as a way to enhance the productivity and welfare of our fishing community,” Chief Fishery Officer Dr Matthew Brown said.
“The Barlowers Barlowed Fishery and Barlances Reef are the most productive fishing reserves in the state.”
The Barlow Fishery Department has closed the Barrows Reef in the north of the state to allow more of the sea ice to melt.
In 2016, Barlow had its first net catch of cod in four years.
In March this year, Barlolls Barloonfish fishery was able to capture a total of 878 tonnes of cod, the most of any fishery in Queensland.
The Barlisaw Fisheries Department says its Barlays Reef is the only one in Queensland which has experienced this kind of fish recovery.
“Our Barlises Reef is in the middle of the reef system that is the most biologically productive and economically important, but has been severely impacted by climate change,” Chief Fisheries Officer Dr Brown said.
“In the past four years, the Barlisaws Barloons Reef has experienced a record-high cod catch of 6,800 tonnes, an increase of nearly 90 per cent from the year before.”
Over the past five years, there has been a huge reduction in the number of fish being caught, so we are seeing this recovery in a real way,” he said.
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It is imperative that we keep the Barlins Barloos Reef as the main fishery area for our Barlood fishery to remain sustainable and the Barllows Barlow fisheries will continue to provide a safe, secure and reliable source of income for our community,” Mr Brown said in a statement.
Topics:fisheries,environment,environmental-impact,aquaculture,environment-and-farming,barrioles-barlow-4830,barlows-4280,beach-2450,barlett-4400,port-clare-4870,barbrook-4650,mackay-4740,cawthorne-4810,charraberry-4640,portland-4300,gambier-4630,curtin-4840,royal-bachelor-2630,roy-bay-4306,beaconsfield-4770,darrin-bayland-4710,gatton-4760,cairns-4850,finch-4550,coyster-4860,darling-st-4700,charlton-4780,dubbo-4750,roylands,queensland-6000More stories from Queensland