DESPITE reports long-nosed fur seal numbers had dropped in the Lakes and Coorong, Southern Fishers Association presiding chair Garry Hera Singh still regularly sees them among his fishing nets. However with a smaller number of seals, he often sets six or eight nets at a time with the expectation that seals may not find them all.
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Mr Hera Singh said summer was generally a busy period for the region with warmer water temperatures meaning fish were more active, and market demand high.
“At this time of year people eat less red meat and more seafood,” he said. “It’s very good fishing but most of the fishery haven’t been able to capitalise.”
Mr Hera Singh said the past four summers have been “unbelievable” seasons but predictions are there for a oncoming dry time.
“But everyone is just getting by,” he said. “If you have good years and can’t capitalise, when the bad years come, we will struggle.”
A trial, funded by the SA government and the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation, on the use of ‘seal crackers’ was planned to be held earlier this month but has been postponed until 2016. A PIRSA spokesperson said the breeding season meant many seals had left the area and trials would start when seals returned in higher numbers. Trials on other preventative measures, including the use of different nets, would also take place.
Mr Hera Singh spent two weeks this month constructing a trial fyke net to see if the concept would work in the fishery. “They’re used a lot in eel fisheries and very common in the Northern Hemisphere,” he said.
He estimates a proper fyke net, with seal-proof mesh, could cost between $3000 to $4000.
“The fishery is financially on its knees, after suffering with (problems from) seals for the past seven years,” he said.
“There are huge capital costs in re-gearing, and unless there is some assistance, not many people will be able to take new ideas up.”
A PIRSA spokesperson said the government had provided fee relief and would continue to support the industry following the trials.
