Lifting Investment Warnings Is a Start, but Fishers Need More Than Promises

19 June 2025

Katter’s Australian Party (KAP) Deputy Leader and Hinchinbrook MP Nick Dametto has welcomed the LNP Government’s move to scrap the long-standing investment warnings placed on Queensland’s commercial fishing sector but says further action must come swiftly if the industry has any chance of surviving the damage left behind by Labor.

Mr Dametto said that over the past decade, Labor’s heavy-handed, UNESCO driven policies had been detrimental to Queensland’s wild-caught seafood industry.

“The removal of investment warnings is an important first step in restoring confidence, but time is of the essence. The new Government must act quickly to lift the catch limits and quotas that are still strangling parts of the industry,” he said.

“Incremental change is good, but we cannot sit on our hands in another endless cycle of reviews while boats stay tied up and businesses shut down.

“There are several things the Government can do differently right now to help turn the tide for Queensland’s commercial seafood industry. One of the most immediate would be to review and lift the Spanish mackerel catch limits imposed by Labor, that led directly to the demise of many fishing businesses across the state.

“The 2025 stock assessment has indicated a healthier biomass level than previously reported, providing the Government with an opportunity to act promptly and give those remaining fishers a real and tangible outcome.

“Just as important is fixing the broken NX licence system. The planned phase-out of gillnets by 2027 needs to be extended, and more NX licences should be made available to give innovative and motivated operators a real chance at establishing themselves. The current NX licence conditions also need to be revised or revoked entirely. Forcing skippers to stay on board at all times, two-hour net checks, and the requirement to run nets in sequence is out of step with the realities of the job.”

“Queensland has a natural, healthy, renewable food source that lives in abundance off the coast. Queenslanders want to eat local seafood and support local jobs, and our State Government should be doing everything they can to make that possible.

“Let’s manage the fishery properly, based on accurate science, but let’s also recognise that if we don’t move quickly, there may be no industry left to save.”

-END-