Mr TOYNE - 2000-06-15
In response to a question without notice during the last sittings about the jellyfish harvesting operation at King Ash Bay, the minister asserted, and I quote: ‘I have staff who will be constantly monitoring the operation’.
Since then, two of the jellyfish operators’ boats became lost because they had no qualified coxswain on board, their crews had to be rescued by police and local professional fishermen, and illegal nets were found by police at the jellyfish harvesting site. Does the minister believe that these events bear out his assertion that his officers would be constantly monitoring the situation, or will he admit that his inaction and negligence has allowed these incidents to occur?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, firstly the employees down there who took their boats for a run down the river were not fishing for jellyfish, they went fishing, recreational fishing.
Mr Toyne: That is not the point.
Mr PALMER: The point is my fisheries officers monitor commercial jellyfish operations, that is what we do, and that is what we will do. We do not monitor their daily habits. We do not monitor their toilet habits. We monitor their fishing operations. When they are commercially fishing for jellyfish we will monitor those operations. As I said in answer to the previous question, there are no jellyfish in the McArthur River at the moment so they have not been jellyfish fishing. When they go jellyfish fishing, when they undertake medusoid pursuits, we will monitor them.
Since then, two of the jellyfish operators’ boats became lost because they had no qualified coxswain on board, their crews had to be rescued by police and local professional fishermen, and illegal nets were found by police at the jellyfish harvesting site. Does the minister believe that these events bear out his assertion that his officers would be constantly monitoring the situation, or will he admit that his inaction and negligence has allowed these incidents to occur?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, firstly the employees down there who took their boats for a run down the river were not fishing for jellyfish, they went fishing, recreational fishing.
Mr Toyne: That is not the point.
Mr PALMER: The point is my fisheries officers monitor commercial jellyfish operations, that is what we do, and that is what we will do. We do not monitor their daily habits. We do not monitor their toilet habits. We monitor their fishing operations. When they are commercially fishing for jellyfish we will monitor those operations. As I said in answer to the previous question, there are no jellyfish in the McArthur River at the moment so they have not been jellyfish fishing. When they go jellyfish fishing, when they undertake medusoid pursuits, we will monitor them.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016