Prawns will be plentiful and seafood sublime as Queensland fishers urge customers to buy local this Christmas to support the industry.
It has been a challenging year for fishers across the state, with the threat of white spot disease impacting prawn farms and trawlers in the south-east, while Cyclone Debbie wiped out reef fish operations in the Whitsunday region.
But Bowen-based Arabon Seafoods director Terry Must said he hoped Christmas would provide welcome relief for fishers in the North.
He said consumers could expect to pay in the high $20s or $30 a kilogram for quality large prawns, which was a slight increase due to increase demand from the export market.
“What white spot did was put Australian prawns back on the table, so that part is a good thing,” Mr Must said.
“We did not have too much reaction from people up here in the North.
“In general the prices of prawns is probably up $4-$5 on last year due to export demand.
“But fishermen are primary producers and they've had low prices for a long time so they've got to get something to keep them going.”
Mr Must said the prawn season ran from March 1 and ended on December 15 in the North.
He said there would be plenty of banana and tiger prawns for the Christmas table, while red spot and endeavours may be a little more expensive due to export demand.
Mr Must said Cyclone Debbie had a huge impact on reef fishers in the Burdekin to Whitsunday region, with reef damage impacting on coral trout numbers.
“We caught 1700 coral trout in four and a half days just before the cyclone in March, then went back there afterwards and caught five fish in one day,” he said.
“From Burdekin to Mackay, it’s been trashed by the cyclone.”
Mr Must said fishers had no option but to leave the region to fish other areas which had a flow on effect in town.
”We've lost a lot of fishermen, we probably had about 15-20 boats working the area, now we’ve probably got about five because there's no fishery between Burdekin and Mackay,” he said.
“Most unload in Townsville, so the businesses miss out, we don’t get the frozen fish, the fresh fish, we don’t sell the ice, bait and fuel.
”Most damage has been done to the coral trout fishery, the numbers up at Innisfail have increased, the fishery is still good to the north and south, but this section in the middle has copped a fair battering.”
Queensland Seafood Industry Association president Keith Harris said prawns and fresh fish should be plentiful this Christmas, while mud-crabs would be harder to find.
“As long as people keep buying our lovely Queensland product the fishing industry will be in good shape,” Mr Harris said.
“In the North both the environment and fishery are slowing getting back on their feet and hopefully they’ve got something to sell around Christmas time to maintain profitability.”
Mr Harris said the Queensland Government’s new fishery strategy would continue to be worked on under the new government, which he hoped would provide certainty for the industry.
“New regulations could come in and most times its governed by the political cycle,” he said.
“We want to keep the fishery sustainable, to make it a bit more profitable but also maintain recreational access.
“But if more people support the local product, the industry will be in a lot better shape, not only financially but to return confidence to the industry
“The prices should remain stable and affordable… There will be plenty of barra and reef fish, you’d have to be blind Freddy not to find quality Queensland seafood for Christmas.”