Stop The Lockout QLD 

In 2021 a group of concerned commercial & recreational fishers in Queensland, reached out to us to assist with the proposed ban on the Spanish Mackerel fishery, without adequate data to justify it, from Fisheries Queensland. After some investigations into the matter the STL admin team couldn’t turn its back on fishers in Queensland, so in June of 2021 #stopthelockoutqld was started.

The main goal of Stop The Lockout Queensland is to use social media to raise awareness, express concerns and highlight injustices, that today’s modern angler faces.

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Recently a new working group was established to quantify Spanish Mackerel stocks on the East Coast. The working group is chaired by policy makers that seem to be pushing an “anti-fishing” agenda”and "Green Agenda". The working group have employed a “New Biomass Estimate Model”, which has skewed the data to show that a once stable and very sustainable, well managed fish stock, is suddenly in a “supposed” dire position.

 

Resulting from this we will see closures to a fishery many Queenslanders depend on to feed their family, as it is an afordable source of protein. Queensland Fish & Chip shops will no longer be able to source fresh wild line caught Australian Spanish Mackerel for their customers. The Impacts on recreational fisherman will include closures and reduced allowable catches, this in turn will lead onto a loss of fishing tackle sales. Charter and Tourism Operators will also be negatively impacted, in an already struggling industry due to Covid19.

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We are actively involved in developing and distributing petitions, letter templates to lobby your local MP and to provide a space which allows likeminded individuals to network and devise strategies to combat these “Anti Fishing” and “Green Agendas”, that want to take away our right to fish. I urge you to join our Facebook Group and become involved in the conversations.