Geelong
Friday, 23 October, 2015
Connecting people and communities
FRIENDS RALLY FOR BELMONT MUM ANJ P3
BUCKETS & BOUQUETS PAGE 10
Phone: 5249 6700 Trades and Classifieds: 1300 666 808
NEW CAT PUTS ON HOOPS FOR FIRST TIME P30
Anglers’ joy
Our net loss
A DAY AT THE RACES: Andrea and Courtney Moore add a splash of colour to the Geelong Cup on Wednesday. 145839 Picture: LOUISA JONES
By JOHN VAN KLAVEREN
COMMERCIAL netting will finish in Corio Bay on 1 April 2018 in a surprise State Government move. Government introduced legislation yesterday to phase out commercial netting in Port Phillip Bay by October 2022 but to close Corio Bay much earlier. The 43 remaining commercial-fishing licenceholders will receive compensation of $27 million, up from $20 million. The Government said it recognised that many commercial netters were multi-generational fishers with strong family connections to the industry. As part of “a clear and fair exit strategy for licence holders�, compensation payments offered in the first year would range from $350,000 to $1.6 million. The Government said banning netting would boost recreational fishing. Geelong and District Anglers Association secretary John Hotchin said anglers could not compete with netters. “We’ve been saying the nets need to go for the last 30 years,� Mr Hotchin said. “The practice of setting hundreds of metres of nets across areas such as the inner and outer-harbour of Corio Bay has been a long-standing problem. “Our 7000 members from the Bellarine Peninsula and the other thousands of fishers from around the bay view today as a massive step forward toward to achieving a net-free bay.� Continued page 5
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