Australia’s borders were closed to overseas fishing fleets more than 20 years ago, after decades of devastating overfishing.
But it has been revealed in Parliament that Australia’s commercial fishing industry is in talks with the Australian Government about allowing overseas fleets into our waters. And at the same time, the Government is trying to strip back the sanctuaries in the marine parks where these vessels might operate.
Opening Australian waters to cheap distant water fishing fleets would be bad for marine life, bad for local fishing communities and bad for recreational fishers.
Australia would also be at risk from the human rights abuses, organised crime and weakened border security which have plagued other nations that allow overseas fleets to plunder their waters.