News from Marine Queensland

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Commercial vessel standard ready for all-weather consultation

The National Marine Safety Committee (NMSC) this week released a draft standard for Watertight and Weathertight Integrity. The draft Regulatory Impact Statement (RIS) will also be available for comment soon.

The new National Standard for Commercial Vessels (NSCV ) C2 - Watertight and Weathertight Integrity  will replace parts of the  USL Code Subsections 5C and 5D and also Section 7 Load Lines.

SOS - Save Our Snapper

Fisheries Queensland staff will be at major boat ramps starting this weekend, from Mackay to Gold Coast to raise anglers awareness about the shortage of snapper.

Minister for Primary Industries, Fisheries and Rural and Regional Queensland Tim Mulherin said we want anglers to be fully informed about the snapper stock before we release a consultation document later this year seeking feedback on potential changes to the Rocky Reef Fin Fish Fishery.

Convoy Against Fedreal Fishing Closures

Strap on your fishing rods and hook up your trailer boat!

A convoy against fishing closures has been organised for Sunday the 1st of August.  The convoy will depart Gympie Showgrounds at 8:30 am and will arrive at Clontarf Boat Ramp at approximately 11am.

Full details can be found at www.frasercoastfishingfiasco.com.au or 'click here'.

Keeping Muddies Alive 'n' Kickin' Longer

Queensland scientists are hitting the road to help reduce the stress levels and increase the quality of one of our much loved seafoods - the iconic mud crab.

Minister for Primary Industries, Fisheries, Rural and Regional Queensland Tim Mulherin said the Department of Employment Economic Development and Innovation (DEEDI) team was taking its research findings to industry to demonstrate how to reduce the stress and mortality rates of muddies.

What fish is that? Fish names standardised across Queensland

Fishers and fish-lovers can be more confident about what they are catching or buying with standardised fish names now adopted in Queensland.

Minister for Primary Industries, Fisheries and Rural and Regional Queensland Tim Mulherin said Queensland had now fully adopted the Australian Fish Names Standard as part of updates recently made to fisheries legislation.

"The move to use these national standardised common fish names is to ensure there is common understanding about what rules apply to what fish," Mr Mulherin said.

New PFDs for Australian Boaters

Personal flotation devices made to the new Australian Standard AS 4758 can now be sold and worn around the country.

National Marine Safety Committee CEO Margie O'Tarpey explained that Australia's marine safety authorities have met the timeframe of 1 July 2010 set by the NMSC to accept personal flotation devices made to AS 4758.

The NMSC has produced a point of sale brochure for retailers, dealers and the general public explaining the PFDs made to the new standard and what they mean. Copies can be attained from marine safety authorities or the NMSC.

Australian Bass are Off the Hook

Australian bass are off limits in Queensland waters from June 1 to midnight, August 31, 2010.

Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol (QBFP) district officer Brett Depper said the bass were off limits at this time due to their breeding cycle. 

"This period is aligned to the breeding cycle of Australian bass populations within Queensland's south east river systems," he said.

"Australian bass migrate down rivers within their natural range to spawn within the brackish marine systems at this time of the year.

Dam’s fish population thrive as water levels rise

Queensland native fish numbers in Callide Dam are on the way back up after they were almost wiped out by cold weather four years ago.

Fisheries Queensland principal scientist Dr Peter Kind said the lake's fish population was decimated after low water temperatures killed approximately 12,000 stocked barramundi.

"This dam, located about 12km from Biloela, is a very popular recreational fishing spot - a kill of this size could have impacted on the local economy," Dr Kind said.

New Whale Pingers Installed on Shark Nets

New acoustic alarms or pingers which help alert whales to the location of shark nets will be installed on the Gold Coast this week.

Minister for Primary Industries, Fisheries, Rural and Regional Queensland Tim Mulherin said the new pingers had a longer and louder noise specially aimed at alerting whales to the location of shark nets.

Senate Committee Consideration of Consumer Law Bill

A Senate Committee has concluded its consideration of the Trade Practices Amendment (Australian Consumer Law) Bill (No. 2) 2010. This bill is the second in a suite of trade practices reforms. It renames the Trade Practices Act 1974 as the Competition and Consumer Act 2010. While transferring many protections from the existing act, it changes the drafting to conform to modern plain English. It also replaces a variety of federal, state and territory legislation with uniform national law.