Poor water quality following recent storms and flooding has placed constraints on commercial fishers’ ability to meet demand and sell their fish into capital city markets in the lead-up to Christmas.
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Despite this, fresh local supplies are expected to remain plentiful throughout the festive season, with trawlers able to fish further out to sea, outside flood-affected waters.
Eden commercial kingfisherman Drew Mudaliar said floodwaters have reduced water quality closer to shore as far up as Montague Island, reducing catches for operators with smaller vessels.
Mr Mudaliar said the last fortnight has only provided “one reasonable day’s fishing”, but says the affect will be short-term and not as great as the difficulty faced by oyster and mussel farmers.
Broadwater oyster farmer Greg Carton said last week that Christmas oyster supplies are balanced on a knife edge, while Eden Mussels was forced to close temporarily as a result of the wild weather.
“The combination of heavy rains and prevailing winds makes it very difficult for the smaller boats to get out there,” Mr Mudaliar said.
“People like to buy their fish on Christmas Eve, so the last real chance for the local guys to get their fish and freight them to the markets in Sydney or Melbourne is Monday, or Tuesday morning at the latest.
“The forecast isn’t great, but we’ll hopefully be able to get out there and catch some fish before then.
“It’s a bit of a bummer but the effect on us is only short-term – the bigger boats and the trawlers can still get good catches further out so the industry hasn’t been hit as hard as the oyster and mussel farmers have been.”
Southland Fish Supplies CEO Stephen Buckless said the trawlers’ ability to continue bringing in their usual hauls mean there will be no shortage of fresh fish for Eden customers.
Mr Buckless said Southland’s retail outlet, Hooked on Seafood, is expecting a bumper week over the festive period.
“The trawlers fish much further out to sea, so the rain and floodwaters aren’t a problem,” he said.
“There are still plenty of fish coming in and there won’t be any problem getting them fresh or at a good price.
“Our retail outlet, Hooked on Seafood, will have plenty of fresh fish, as well as prawns and other seafood.”
