May 5, 2026 • 11 mins
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
And well some wondering what was in it when it
comes to one of our favorite pastimes and that is fishing.
And joining us in the studio is David Girovolo. He
is indeed the CEO of the Amateur Fishermen's Association here
in the Northern Territory. Good morning to you, David.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Good morning Katie, and good morning to your listeners.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
Lovely to have you in the studio. Now, what was
your reaction to the budget? What's in it for our
avid fishers in the territory.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Yeah, so we had the budget industry lock up yesterday
morning and it was a good opportunity to hear from
the Treasury of Bill yan And as well as the
Treasury representatives. And look, I have to say there's ongoing
support for key core programs funding for NT fisheries. There's
no major changes there and while they're not really big
(00:48):
infrastructure projects, we could say in this budget for recreational fishing,
we have seen some really important strategic investments being announced.
So two and a half million dollars over two years
to support a recovery plan for golden snapper, which is
something that we've been keenly waiting for. Four million dollars
over two years to strengthen fisheries compliance, which is something
(01:10):
that's again tied to golden snapper, but something we've been
hearing a lot about the need to really improve the
capacity for fisheries compliance. And that compares to a doubling
of the budget essentially over the next two years. And
then we saw a revoted four point five million dollars
or thereabouts for rekfishing infrastructure, and that's a carryover funds
(01:33):
dates all the way back to the previous government's fifty
million dollar commitment. But it's very important to see it
still there in the budget because what it means is
that as those projects or some of those smaller projects
come online, hopefully there is some funding availability to deliver them.
And my understanding is also funds things like the Recfishing
Grants program, which is very popular.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
So tell me, in terms of that money for infrastructure,
are there any specific projects that you would like to
see some of that funding go towards.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
So there certainly are a number of priority projects that
have both been identified through the rec Fishing Development Plan,
through the Recreational Fishing Advisory Committee, and also through the
a FAN Election Policy Questionnaire. Going back between twenty four.
Some of those things have specific commitments, others do not.
(02:22):
But one of the things that's been highlighted as a
need by the ARFACT is to install a toilet at
the Point Stuart boat ramp, because that's become increasingly popular.
After a lot of work was done to secure an
easement through private property to turn what was a boat
ramp on public land that previously required permission. It's now
(02:46):
publicly available. It is seasonal, but because it has become
quite popular, it does need some additional facilities. There's also
a number of government commitments around improving launching for people
with limited mobility, which we understand there's been a fair
bit of design work going into as well as improvements
(03:06):
at the Corroberrie boat ramp, but we just really have
to wait and see what the specific commitments are around.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
David, Then, when you talk about the additional funding for
fisheries compliance, what is that going to translate to for
the everyday person that's out there on the water.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
So one of the things that we've seen over recent
years is that the Fisheries Division of the Department of
Agriculture and Fisheries has actually developed its own compliance capability
we used to have water police. Increasingly, with more and
more pressure on police, we saw the water police have
to step out of that space, and for a long
time we actually didn't have anything like a satisfactory level
(03:43):
of enforcement activity. So that capacity has been built up
in anti fisheries, but one of the things that we
know is that they need operational funding so they can
actually be out there on the water more and hopefully
one of the things that this will do is enable
them to do more checks and be more of a
(04:03):
cop on the beat to make sure that there is
high levels of compliance. We know most fishes do the
right thing, but a few fishes doing the wrong thing
can really undermine confidence for everybody else, And especially as
we move towards targeting the challenges like around Golden Snapper,
we want to make sure we've got strong compliance in place,
so we applaud the government for this decision.
Speaker 1 (04:22):
Well, let's talk a little bit more about this situation
with the Golden Snapper. We know that that last week,
of course, you know, was the data essentially when they
have your say questionnaire closed. What did a fant have
to say about this situation because we've really look it's
I guess I'm not surprised because everybody loves their fishing,
(04:43):
but people have been pretty fired up about this whole situation.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
Yeah, absolutely, Katie. I'm still recovering from it because it
was about seven days locked in the office night and
day and working on our submission, which was you know,
really informed by engagement both with our members but some
of our major major stakeholders, the fishing clubs, the tackle shops,
the the boating shops, some of the fishing tour businesses
as well, and our submission which you know, we really
(05:10):
welcome the opportunity to have a say on this. I
think it's really important that the Minister and the Department
have reached out to the community industry and what we've
said in our submission is that we really need to
see a better recovery plan, not business as usual. We
accept that there is a need for action on golden
snapperp but we also think it needs to be understood
(05:31):
as a long term issue. It's a long term issue
with these levels, according to the government's own modeling, seems
to have been around this level for the last twenty
twenty five years. So there is a real decision here
for the Minister around the timing, the scale and the
kinds of interventions that are made, And what we're really
calling for is a plan that's built around for key
(05:53):
pillars and that's what we've put forward.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
And what are like, what are those for key pillars?
And I guess you know, like to people that head
out on the water on the weekend that maybe aren't
in those river systems and you know, are in areas
where there could be golden snapper, what is it like?
What could these changes potentially mean for them?
Speaker 2 (06:12):
So we know firstly that there's a varied experience from
people based upon where they fish. People who fish inshore
tend to be catching quite good numbers of small golden snapper.
People who fish way offshore seem to be catching quite
good numbers of bigger golden snapper. With this wet season,
we've seen a big flush of golden snapper moving in closer,
but the trend over time has been to see fewer
(06:34):
large golden snapper in places like Darwin Harbor and near
shore reefs. And that varied experience of people has also
led to people having different views around what should be
done or what the situation is. But one thing that
is very clear is that there are a lot of
assumptions that are made, both in terms of understanding the
(06:55):
stock of golden snapper, so when we are how are
those inshore golden snapper related to those golden snapper, and
then data gaps around what's happening with the catch for
recreational fishes and for the fishing tour operators. So the
four pillars that we focused on here as to say
that we need that key funding for priority research to
reduce our alliance on assumptions about the connectivity of golden snapper.
(07:18):
In particular, we need to have priority investment in improved
data to fill in those gaps. The fishing tour industry
has been saying for years they need to improve their data.
We know we need to improve rec data, and we
know that we can work with wreckfishers to actually collect
that data.
Speaker 1 (07:36):
So David two point two million dollars in the budget
then to support some of this work. Is that correct?
Speaker 2 (07:44):
So that's what's in the budget. Specifically what it will
go to or whether it will fund these things is
really the work that we need to continue to do
now with the government, and I know we're probably pressed
for time. I just want to say quickly. Other two
pillars they are about restoring trust through partnership, so really
leveraging recreational fishes in the management, which is really important
to restoring this trust that this has been a twenty
(08:06):
five year issue. And then the other thing is that
we say, if there is a need for additional restrictions,
stage them over time, don't every don't hit people with
them right at once, give industry an opportunity to adjust,
but also give people a chance to build that trust
and for us to target those measures.
Speaker 1 (08:23):
Like in an ideal world from a reck fishing perspective,
what would any restriction look like.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
Well, I think what we've highlighted is and it may
be the case that the Department and the Minister say, look,
we need to see some more precautionary action now while
we do collect better data, and while we build this
stewardship and increase the voluntary behaviors that we know can
also reduce fishing mortality. We've suggested that a targeted spawning
closure would be a good way to do that, so
(08:52):
reduce effort for a particular period of time, but also
stop interrupting the fish when they are spawning. Ironically, we
don't know exactly when or where they spawn, so we
know window of where they probably do over the high
parts of the wet season, but we want to do
more research to target that better over time. We think
we can also look at the vessel limits. We're really
(09:15):
scraping the barrel in terms of how far you can
go with adjusting bag limits because they are already quite low.
So we think looking at the vessel limit might be
a better way to do that and not have a
perverse effect of killing fish and releasing dead fish, Building
artificial reefs or reef habitat in previously barren areas and
closing those areas to fishing, so you're not actually displacing
(09:37):
people off of their favorite fishing grounds or areas that
we know are currently productive, but create new productive areas
and protect those. We think that's a really important thing
to be looking at, and also of course that enhance compliance.
And one thing we've been hearing from recreational fish is
that the fishing tool operator activity in certain areas, particularly
(09:57):
Darn Harbor and Dundee, it's been too high for too long,
and so whilst we want to support a good transition
for that industry and that shouldn't happen immediately. We do
want to see a capping of that effort and move
being brought in so that there can be an adjustment
so that we actually see a reduction in that pressure,
particularly in places like Darwin Harbor where families in small
(10:20):
boats are limited to there and they really can't go offshore.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
Yeah. Look, it's going to be interesting. It seems like
there's going to need to be quite a bit more
discussion and research in this space. David, before I let
you go, I don't think we touched on this in
our discussion about the budget. Was there any money in
there for the banning of the gill nets or the
phasing out of the gill nets?
Speaker 2 (10:39):
Well, you're quite right, Katie. A lot of people were
hoping to see money in the budget for the Barrowmundy
guillnet buyout. One of the things that might not be
as well known as this is supposed to be a
phase out over four years, is what the government always promised,
and the government's timeline on the Fisheries website says that
the adjustment is set to roll out from July one
next year. Wich actually puts it into the following financial year.
(11:02):
We've spoken with the Minister's office, and they've told us
that their commitment to phase out Barramundi gilnetting by the
end of this term remains on track, that they are
one hundred percent committed to do that, and what they've
told us is that indeed the buyout funds will flow
from July one next year. But you know, we need
to see progress on that and it's going to be
(11:25):
really important to get the settings right and the architecture
around the way that fishery is designed into the future
to really facilitate the culmination of that commitment.
Speaker 1 (11:33):
Well, David Chirivolo CEO, we better let you go. It's
always a busy morning after budget. I really appreciate you
joining us in the studio this morning. Hadn't seen sort
of many headline headlines about fishing, so we thought we
need to find out what it means for the industry.
Speaker 2 (11:50):
Always happy to chat fishing, Katie.
Speaker 1 (11:51):
Thanks good on you, Thank you so much for your
time this morning.
And well some wondering what was in it when it
comes to one of our favorite pastimes and that is fishing.
And joining us in the studio is David Girovolo. He
is indeed the CEO of the Amateur Fishermen's Association here
in the Northern Territory. Good morning to you, David.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Good morning Katie, and good morning to your listeners.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
Lovely to have you in the studio. Now, what was
your reaction to the budget? What's in it for our
avid fishers in the territory.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Yeah, so we had the budget industry lock up yesterday
morning and it was a good opportunity to hear from
the Treasury of Bill yan And as well as the
Treasury representatives. And look, I have to say there's ongoing
support for key core programs funding for NT fisheries. There's
no major changes there and while they're not really big
(00:48):
infrastructure projects, we could say in this budget for recreational fishing,
we have seen some really important strategic investments being announced.
So two and a half million dollars over two years
to support a recovery plan for golden snapper, which is
something that we've been keenly waiting for. Four million dollars
over two years to strengthen fisheries compliance, which is something
(01:10):
that's again tied to golden snapper, but something we've been
hearing a lot about the need to really improve the
capacity for fisheries compliance. And that compares to a doubling
of the budget essentially over the next two years. And
then we saw a revoted four point five million dollars
or thereabouts for rekfishing infrastructure, and that's a carryover funds
(01:33):
dates all the way back to the previous government's fifty
million dollar commitment. But it's very important to see it
still there in the budget because what it means is
that as those projects or some of those smaller projects
come online, hopefully there is some funding availability to deliver them.
And my understanding is also funds things like the Recfishing
Grants program, which is very popular.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
So tell me, in terms of that money for infrastructure,
are there any specific projects that you would like to
see some of that funding go towards.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
So there certainly are a number of priority projects that
have both been identified through the rec Fishing Development Plan,
through the Recreational Fishing Advisory Committee, and also through the
a FAN Election Policy Questionnaire. Going back between twenty four.
Some of those things have specific commitments, others do not.
(02:22):
But one of the things that's been highlighted as a
need by the ARFACT is to install a toilet at
the Point Stuart boat ramp, because that's become increasingly popular.
After a lot of work was done to secure an
easement through private property to turn what was a boat
ramp on public land that previously required permission. It's now
(02:46):
publicly available. It is seasonal, but because it has become
quite popular, it does need some additional facilities. There's also
a number of government commitments around improving launching for people
with limited mobility, which we understand there's been a fair
bit of design work going into as well as improvements
(03:06):
at the Corroberrie boat ramp, but we just really have
to wait and see what the specific commitments are around.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
David, Then, when you talk about the additional funding for
fisheries compliance, what is that going to translate to for
the everyday person that's out there on the water.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
So one of the things that we've seen over recent
years is that the Fisheries Division of the Department of
Agriculture and Fisheries has actually developed its own compliance capability
we used to have water police. Increasingly, with more and
more pressure on police, we saw the water police have
to step out of that space, and for a long
time we actually didn't have anything like a satisfactory level
(03:43):
of enforcement activity. So that capacity has been built up
in anti fisheries, but one of the things that we
know is that they need operational funding so they can
actually be out there on the water more and hopefully
one of the things that this will do is enable
them to do more checks and be more of a
(04:03):
cop on the beat to make sure that there is
high levels of compliance. We know most fishes do the
right thing, but a few fishes doing the wrong thing
can really undermine confidence for everybody else, And especially as
we move towards targeting the challenges like around Golden Snapper,
we want to make sure we've got strong compliance in place,
so we applaud the government for this decision.
Speaker 1 (04:22):
Well, let's talk a little bit more about this situation
with the Golden Snapper. We know that that last week,
of course, you know, was the data essentially when they
have your say questionnaire closed. What did a fant have
to say about this situation because we've really look it's
I guess I'm not surprised because everybody loves their fishing,
(04:43):
but people have been pretty fired up about this whole situation.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
Yeah, absolutely, Katie. I'm still recovering from it because it
was about seven days locked in the office night and
day and working on our submission, which was you know,
really informed by engagement both with our members but some
of our major major stakeholders, the fishing clubs, the tackle shops,
the the boating shops, some of the fishing tour businesses
as well, and our submission which you know, we really
(05:10):
welcome the opportunity to have a say on this. I
think it's really important that the Minister and the Department
have reached out to the community industry and what we've
said in our submission is that we really need to
see a better recovery plan, not business as usual. We
accept that there is a need for action on golden
snapperp but we also think it needs to be understood
(05:31):
as a long term issue. It's a long term issue
with these levels, according to the government's own modeling, seems
to have been around this level for the last twenty
twenty five years. So there is a real decision here
for the Minister around the timing, the scale and the
kinds of interventions that are made, And what we're really
calling for is a plan that's built around for key
(05:53):
pillars and that's what we've put forward.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
And what are like, what are those for key pillars?
And I guess you know, like to people that head
out on the water on the weekend that maybe aren't
in those river systems and you know, are in areas
where there could be golden snapper, what is it like?
What could these changes potentially mean for them?
Speaker 2 (06:12):
So we know firstly that there's a varied experience from
people based upon where they fish. People who fish inshore
tend to be catching quite good numbers of small golden snapper.
People who fish way offshore seem to be catching quite
good numbers of bigger golden snapper. With this wet season,
we've seen a big flush of golden snapper moving in closer,
but the trend over time has been to see fewer
(06:34):
large golden snapper in places like Darwin Harbor and near
shore reefs. And that varied experience of people has also
led to people having different views around what should be
done or what the situation is. But one thing that
is very clear is that there are a lot of
assumptions that are made, both in terms of understanding the
(06:55):
stock of golden snapper, so when we are how are
those inshore golden snapper related to those golden snapper, and
then data gaps around what's happening with the catch for
recreational fishes and for the fishing tour operators. So the
four pillars that we focused on here as to say
that we need that key funding for priority research to
reduce our alliance on assumptions about the connectivity of golden snapper.
(07:18):
In particular, we need to have priority investment in improved
data to fill in those gaps. The fishing tour industry
has been saying for years they need to improve their data.
We know we need to improve rec data, and we
know that we can work with wreckfishers to actually collect
that data.
Speaker 1 (07:36):
So David two point two million dollars in the budget
then to support some of this work. Is that correct?
Speaker 2 (07:44):
So that's what's in the budget. Specifically what it will
go to or whether it will fund these things is
really the work that we need to continue to do
now with the government, and I know we're probably pressed
for time. I just want to say quickly. Other two
pillars they are about restoring trust through partnership, so really
leveraging recreational fishes in the management, which is really important
to restoring this trust that this has been a twenty
(08:06):
five year issue. And then the other thing is that
we say, if there is a need for additional restrictions,
stage them over time, don't every don't hit people with
them right at once, give industry an opportunity to adjust,
but also give people a chance to build that trust
and for us to target those measures.
Speaker 1 (08:23):
Like in an ideal world from a reck fishing perspective,
what would any restriction look like.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
Well, I think what we've highlighted is and it may
be the case that the Department and the Minister say, look,
we need to see some more precautionary action now while
we do collect better data, and while we build this
stewardship and increase the voluntary behaviors that we know can
also reduce fishing mortality. We've suggested that a targeted spawning
closure would be a good way to do that, so
(08:52):
reduce effort for a particular period of time, but also
stop interrupting the fish when they are spawning. Ironically, we
don't know exactly when or where they spawn, so we
know window of where they probably do over the high
parts of the wet season, but we want to do
more research to target that better over time. We think
we can also look at the vessel limits. We're really
(09:15):
scraping the barrel in terms of how far you can
go with adjusting bag limits because they are already quite low.
So we think looking at the vessel limit might be
a better way to do that and not have a
perverse effect of killing fish and releasing dead fish, Building
artificial reefs or reef habitat in previously barren areas and
closing those areas to fishing, so you're not actually displacing
(09:37):
people off of their favorite fishing grounds or areas that
we know are currently productive, but create new productive areas
and protect those. We think that's a really important thing
to be looking at, and also of course that enhance compliance.
And one thing we've been hearing from recreational fish is
that the fishing tool operator activity in certain areas, particularly
(09:57):
Darn Harbor and Dundee, it's been too high for too long,
and so whilst we want to support a good transition
for that industry and that shouldn't happen immediately. We do
want to see a capping of that effort and move
being brought in so that there can be an adjustment
so that we actually see a reduction in that pressure,
particularly in places like Darwin Harbor where families in small
(10:20):
boats are limited to there and they really can't go offshore.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
Yeah. Look, it's going to be interesting. It seems like
there's going to need to be quite a bit more
discussion and research in this space. David, before I let
you go, I don't think we touched on this in
our discussion about the budget. Was there any money in
there for the banning of the gill nets or the
phasing out of the gill nets?
Speaker 2 (10:39):
Well, you're quite right, Katie. A lot of people were
hoping to see money in the budget for the Barrowmundy
guillnet buyout. One of the things that might not be
as well known as this is supposed to be a
phase out over four years, is what the government always promised,
and the government's timeline on the Fisheries website says that
the adjustment is set to roll out from July one
next year. Wich actually puts it into the following financial year.
(11:02):
We've spoken with the Minister's office, and they've told us
that their commitment to phase out Barramundi gilnetting by the
end of this term remains on track, that they are
one hundred percent committed to do that, and what they've
told us is that indeed the buyout funds will flow
from July one next year. But you know, we need
to see progress on that and it's going to be
(11:25):
really important to get the settings right and the architecture
around the way that fishery is designed into the future
to really facilitate the culmination of that commitment.
Speaker 1 (11:33):
Well, David Chirivolo CEO, we better let you go. It's
always a busy morning after budget. I really appreciate you
joining us in the studio this morning. Hadn't seen sort
of many headline headlines about fishing, so we thought we
need to find out what it means for the industry.
Speaker 2 (11:50):
Always happy to chat fishing, Katie.
Speaker 1 (11:51):
Thanks good on you, Thank you so much for your
time this morning.
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