CPSU Media Release

Minister cancels meeting with Fishos

The Chief Executive Officer of the Victorian Fisheries Authority has proposed a major change that will significantly affect the protection of our aquatic environments, natural values (being able to access the aquatic environments) and our fisheries (the proposal will result in the decimation of our aquatic environments). Fisheries Officers (FOs) in Victoria ensure this protection for all Victorians.

VRFish

Petition: Closure of fisheries stations in Metro Melbourne

Issue:

We the undersigned residents of Victoria draw to the attention of the House that proposed cuts to the Victorian Fisheries Authority will leave the state’s fish stocks, marine parks and protected wildlife species virtually unprotected and vulnerable to widespread illegal fishing.

Action:

We, the undersigned residents of Victoria therefore request that the Legislative Assembly of Victoria call on the Victorian Government not to close 5 Fisheries Stations in Metro Melbourne or cut 73 fisheries officer’s jobs across the state, severely compromising Victoria’s ability to protect its marine life and enforce fishing regulations. These cuts threaten the sustainability of our commercial and recreational fisheries as well as severely impacting the protection of iconic Victorian marine species.

Geelong Advertiser
Olivia Shying and Alexander Blain

VFA director of enforcement and education Ian Parks said the case represented some of the most significant offending ever detected in Victoria and the estimated proceeds from the illegal sale of fish totalled more than $370,000.

“This is one of the largest and most complex investigations the VFA has undertaken and it uncovered and put a stop to behaviour that risked the sustainability of our rock lobster and giant crab fisheries,” Mr Parks said.

“Officers assessed catch and effort data, analysed vessel monitoring systems, undertook surveillance of the operators back at port and travelled hundreds of kilometres to the continental shelf west of King Island to retrieve the pots that were later forfeited.

Victorian National Parks Association
Media Release

Victoria’s leading conservation, recreational and commercial fishing organisations have united to oppose the State Government’s plan to axe fisheries officers. They are asking for an immediate reconsideration, warning that if they go ahead, the cuts pose significant threats to marine health, sustainable fish stocks and public safety on Victorian waters.

Mirage News

Magistrate Holzer said it was a "very, very serious example of this kind of offending" involving "considerable concealment", while handing down total penalties, costs and compensation close to $650,000.

GoldFM
Daniel Brewer

“This is yet another step from a cash-strapped government that has doubled the city-based public service in ten years. But when it’s time to make budget cuts, it’s rural frontline workers who suffer,” he said.

This decision follows a recent reduction in Parks Victoria staff under the same minister, raising further concerns about resource availability in regional areas.

Previously, East Gippsland had four fisheries officer positions at both Mallacoota and Lakes Entrance, along with a regional manager, while some positions had been left vacant, the latest cuts mean only two officers will remain in each location.

Proposed massive reduction to Fisheries Officers
Fishing Victoria Forum

The vast majority of us care for our fishing resources but then you read stories of somebody taking 18 Snapper with many over size or someone else caught fishing with nets across an estuary. We need fisheries officer and Im happy to put up with request to inspect catches to ensure the future of our recreational fishing resources

There’s a proposal from the Victorian Fisheries Authority (VFA) to close five fisheries stations around Port Phillip and Western Port. The plan includes cutting the number of fisheries officers almost in half—from 73 down to 36—and shifting their focus more toward community education rather than enforcement.

This has sparked concern about how it might affect fish stocks, marine park protection, and illegal fishing across the region.

A petition has been launched to oppose the cuts and call on the Victorian Parliament to keep the current fisheries stations and staffing levels in place.

Herald Sun
Jordan McCarthy

An astonishing 100 per cent of Fisheries Officers Association members have voted that they have “no confidence” in the Victorian Fisheries Authority (VFA) CEO Travis Dowling.

The vote comes as the VFA intends to push ahead with plans that will see 73 fishery officer positions more than halved and five fishery stations across the state reduced to just three.

Jobs will be lost, workers put at risk and wildlife will suffer according to VFA officers who say their cries have been falling on deaf ears.

It’s a plan that has proved so unpopular that fishing organisations and conservationists have united to oppose the plan.

The Victorian National Parks Association (VNPA), Victorian Recreational Fishing Peak Body (VRFish), Seafood Industry Victoria and the Abalone Council Victoria have all joined forces to denounce the plan.

The Weekly Times
Peter Hunt

The Allan Government is sacking fisheries enforcement officers, without knowing how many fish recreational anglers harvest.

The Allan Government is gutting the number of fisheries enforcement officers it employs from 69 to 36, without knowing how many fish recreational anglers harvest each year.

The Weekly Times
David Johnston

Concerns are growing about a rise in poaching and other illegal activity following cuts to fisheries officers position in East Gippsland.

East Gippsland are chasing a compromise on recent savage statewide cuts to fisheries officer roles due to the region’s remote location.

CPSU Media Release

1. The perceived deterioration of staff safety, wellbeing and culture at the Victorian Fisheries Authority (VFA), indicated by the results of People Matters Surveys

2. The proposed reduction in Fisheries Officers despite increases in non-compliance as illustrated in VFA reporting

3. The proposed reduction in Fisheries Officers in conjunction with the increase in noncompliance and its impact on the VFA’s ability to meet objectives of relevant legislation, especially concerning sustainability

4. VFA's inability to adequately address the current stock levels of Victorian fisheries indicated by the Status of Australian Fish Stocks Report data

5. Feedback of members of the Fisheries Officers Association to their executive that the VFA has been unable to exemplify thorough and considered planning, indicated by VFA's responses and information provided for the proposed major change

6. The decline in public support of VFA’s approach to managing Victorian fisheries, indicated by the recent VR Fish survey

7. Feedback of members of the Fisheries Officers Association to their executive feeling unsupported by VFA and feeling that they have not been meaningfully consulted with by VFA.

The News - Mornington Peninsula
Brendan Rees

But Patton voiced his opposition to the plan, noting the peninsula’s bays, which covered 192km of the coastline, were a critical asset for the region, and home to a variety of marine life including the Burrunan dolphin, Weedy Seadragon, and Giant Spider Crabs. “All these changes are massive and with fewer officers, I believe there’s a much higher risk of illegal fishing, habitat destruction and non-compliance with catch limits throughout both of our bays in Western Port and Port Phillip Bay,” he said, adding it “would undermine years of progress in protecting marine ecosystems”.

“Our bays play a critical role in marine biodiversity protection, ensuring sustainable fishing practices from all recreational fishes and maintaining compliance with marine safety regulations and that includes the jet ski operator. “A cut in enforcement personnel could weaken the ability to monitor high-risk areas, leaving local beaches and waterways even more vulnerable to unsafe behaviour.”

Lakes Post

A reduction of fisheries officer positions from nine to four in East Gippsland has been slammed by Gippsland East MP, Tim Bull.

“This is yet another step from a cash strapped Labor Government that has doubled the metropolitan based public service in the 10 years it has been in government, but now when it is time to tighten the belt, has cut front line positions from rural areas,” he said.

This comes on the back of a reduction in Parks Victoria staff by the same Minister just months ago.

Mr Bull said there had previously been four fisheries officer positions at both Mallacoota and Lakes Entrance as well as a regional manager, and while some of these positions had been vacant, the cuts mean that only two positions remain in each of Lakes Entrance and Mallacoota.

VRFish Media Release
Ben Scullin

Further, the reform proposal is to rationalise 5 current Port Phillip region Fisheries bases and open 3 new Port Phillip region Fisheries Bases. Forgetting about the hullaballoo on what names and on who for the moment, and stick with the numbers, the current 73 Fisheries Officers servicing Victoria are to be reduced to 55 Fisheries Officers Statewide.
This includes a specialist investigative team of between 4 and 6 to take on the very bad boys and recidivist illegal fishers.

Fishing World
Budget cuts to the Victorian Fisheries Authority (VFA) will result in up to 37 jobs axed. The job losses will include science, management and fisheries officer positions. The VFA, according to a report in The Age, is also planning to close four bayside stations at Cowes, Altona North, Mornington and Braeside.

The current 73 Fisheries Officer positions throughout the state will be replaced with 36 Fisheries Engagement Officer positions, a 50% reduction, predominately focused on community engagement.

Bellarine Times
Ellie Claringbold

Wayne Townsend, acting branch secretary of the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU), said the proposal raised “huge safety concerns” for the union’s members and called on the Victorian government to halt the restructure.

“We are very concerned for worker safety in this proposed environment,” he said in a statement.

“We believe that the impacts of the proposal will have a significant impact on the sustainability of the fisheries environment.”

Frankston Times
Bayside News

VICTORIA’S fisheries department is proposing to close its Mornington station and replace it with a “community office” in Carrum under a new model stakeholder groups fear would lead to weaker compliance and increased illegal fishing.

The community hub would be “education only”, according to the Community and Public Sector Union (CSPU), with nine engagement officers to serve the whole Port Phillip and Western Port Bay areas, resulting in a 66 per cent staff reduction.

ABC News
Jane McNaughton

Mr Burgess said the flow-on effects of a crayfish or abalone black market would be detrimental to commercial fisherman.

"We've gone to a lot of trouble to put in marine national parks to preserve biodiversity of the environment, and they're just going to be plundered now by organised crime," he said.

Gold FM
Daniel Brewer

These job losses are set to effect frontline fisheries compliance, dramatically weakening enforcement efforts, leaving marine environments, recreational fishers and boaters at greater risk.

According to the State Opposition, positions across the two busiest fishing and boating regions, Port Phillip and Western Port Bay will go from 27 to just 9 staff.

In total, 35 people will lose their jobs, bringing staffing from 192 to 157.

Deputy Leader of the Opposition Sam Groth says “Labor is dismantling fisheries enforcement, leaving our waterways vulnerable to illegal fishing, marine damage, and safety risks.”

Sentinel-Times
Nicole May

The key issue, according to Brown, is that fisheries officers are integral to the detection and prevention of illegal fishing practices, which include poaching and unsustainable fishing methods that can deplete critical marine resources such as abalone and rock lobster. These species are highly valued, and Brown fears that organised crime groups will exploit the lack of oversight.

“The crazy thing is that the crime unit that they say is going to be running—that’s been running for 35 years—that’s already in existence, and it’s downsized,” Brown said. “Those people are desk-bound analysts. They work on information provided to them by fisheries officers across the state on the ground. They’re the eyes and ears of the organisation.”

Herald Sun
Justin Smith

The FOs ensure anglers don’t take home bagfuls of undersized creatures to their air fryers, and preventing dodgy operators from ridding the world of abalone and crayfish, as well as policing boat safety. An essential job, you’d think.

But the VFA is preparing a new model that’s based more on “education and engagement” rather than compliance, and will mean mass redundancies of officers. Some with decades of experience. Apparently, compliance has been excellent in the last few years, so they’re not needed. But how long will that last once a few unscrupulous bastards with some burley figure out no one is watching them?

The Advertiser
Eddie Russell

Mr Townsend said that without fisheries officers, aquatic environments would be destroyed as a consequence of increased non-compliance.

According to the union, there is a 56 per cent offending rate in marine national parks, like the one in Point Lonsdale.

State deputy opposition leader Sam Groth said the proposed changes were nothing more than a “cost-cutting measure” that would fail on all fronts.

“These cuts mean fewer inspections, less oversight, and a greater chance of illegal fishing and environmental damage,” he said.

“It’s a slap in the face to the responsible fishers who do the right thing and expect the rules to be enforced fairly.”

The Age
Bianca Hall and Benjamin Preiss

Murray Donaldson, a 37-year veteran of Victoria’s fisheries sector who retired a decade ago as chief investigator, said: “In a very short period of time, this commodity will attract organised crime.”

“I can see similarities with what’s occurring with black market tobacco,” Donaldson warned.

“You could envisage that people will quickly organise to harvest the fish and then control the distribution of that fish. This might sound a bit dramatic, but we could see in the future, fish and chip shops getting firebombed, not [just] tobacco shops.”

Sentinel-Times
Nicole May
“These cuts mean fewer inspections, less oversight, and a greater chance of illegal fishing and environmental damage. It’s a slap in the face to the responsible fishers who do the right thing and expect the rules to be enforced fairly.”

“The Liberal and Nationals will always stand with recreational fishers and boaters to ensure sustainable fish stocks, responsible management of our marine environments, and safe, well-regulated waterways,” Mr Groth said

Victorian National Parks Association
Shannon Hurley

Ms Hurley said the cuts would severely impact the protection of iconic Victorian marine species.

“These officers are our eyes and ears on the water, protecting vulnerable species like Giant Spider Crabs during their shallow water migrations, abalone in our intertidal zones, and snapper in our bays. Without adequate enforcement, these species face devastating risks from illegal and unregulated fishing.”

The cuts to fisheries officers follow significant reductions across other environmental protection agencies, with Parks Victoria facing $95 million in budget cuts and an estimated 100 job losses, while the Office of the Conservation Regulator has already lost 33 staff.

Sentinel-Times
Michael Giles

In State Parliament on Tuesday night this week, February 18, Eastern Victoria MP Melina Bath raised the issue in the Adjournment Debate in the Legislative Council.

“The action I seek from the minister is to outline how this government intends to regulate frontline fisheries compliance, create positive education and protect our marine environments.”

Ms Bath went on to say that effective regulation of the marine environment works to ensure that fishing, both recreationally and commercially, remains sustainable and provides maximum value for the community.