2016-09-15 Ordinary Meeting Agenda

ORDINARY MEETING REPORT                                                     15 SEPTEMBER 2016


J.     Council requests that the Department of Agriculture & Fisheries give consideration to
       reducing commercial netting on Teewah Beach between the Noosa River mouth and
       Double Island Point by way of declaring a net free zone and/or a buy-back of commercial
       fishery licenses and/or not re-issuing any licenses due for expiry and Council would commit
       to working in partnership with the State Government on a process to achieve this outcome
       including community and industry engagement and consideration of resource
       commitments; and
K.     Council requests that the Department of Agriculture & Fisheries give consideration to the
       overall sustainability of fishing and prawning in the Noosa estuary and river system, on the
       understanding that current research and projects such as Noosa Biosphere Reserve
       Foundation's Bring Fish Life Back are attempting to both reinstate marine biodiversity and
       also monitor that biodiversity; and
L.     That Council has particular concerns for the potential environmental impact of prawn beam
       trawling in the Noosa River system and therefore requests that the Department of
       Agriculture & Fisheries give consideration to whether prawn beam trawling is having an
       adverse impact on the marine environment in the Noosa River, particularly the river floor
       and seagrass beds, thus adversely impacting on overall biodiversity, and further consider
       whether appropriate licenses should be bought back or at least not renewed; and
M.     Council requests that the Department of Agriculture & Fisheries give consideration to a
       total fishing exclusion zone on the Noosa North Shore between the Noosa River mouth and
       First Cutting, and possibly further exclusion zones at specific sites within the Noosa River
       system to allow replenishment of overall biodiversity and Council would commit to working
       in partnership with the State Government on a process to achieve this outcome including
       community and industry engagement; and
N.     Council requests the Department of Agriculture & Fisheries give consideration to the
       reduction in bag limits for recreational fishing.



REPORT
At the Planning & Environment Committee meeting held on 6 September 2016 a report was
presented to Council regarding the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF) Green Paper
on fisheries management reform in Queensland which is open for public consultation until 30
September, 2016.
At this meeting, the Committee agreed to defer consideration of this matter to the Ordinary
Meeting to enable further discussion on the issues presented.
On 12 September 2016 a workshop was held with Councillors which resulted in general
agreement regarding Council’s position on the fisheries management reforms outlined in the
Green Paper. The purpose of this report is to present an amended recommendation which
reflects the discussion held by Councillors at the workshop.


Previous Council Consideration
Nil.


Finance & Risk
Nil.




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