PORT Neill residents do not want fish farms in their waters - that’s the message lobbyist Tom Bagshaw will be conveying at an aquaculture proposal meeting tonight.
Mr Bagshaw is a concerned resident who has sent out fliers encouraging locals to attend the meeting and oppose the Primary Industries and Resources SA proposal for a finfish and shellfish zone at Port Neill, where private companies can apply to place leases.
He said aquaculture could ruin the quiet tourist town, if infrastructure had to be built for bigger boats and the pristine environment came under threat.
The Lucky Bay ferry service had started to bring visitors to the area, with significant tourism reforms proposed for the caravan park, but he said tourists would be put off by the fishing activity.
“We have one of the best boat ramps in the State here at the moment - what will they do to that, build a marina so the fishing boats can get in?
“No one will want to come here for holidays and have feed boats coming in at 7am.
“Where will they repair fish rings - will they be bringing them in here?”
As well as sharks and rubbish from the farms being potential issues, narrow passages could mean fishing activity caused a navigational hazard, and there could be environmental problems, with open cage fish farming directly impacting the seabed and escapees from the farms impacting the native fish population.
He said the oyster industry was in turmoil. “How long before that happens with fish farming?
“Open sea fish farming has proven to be unsustainable.
“Soon we’ll be paying a levy for the gulf as well as the River Murray.”
The Port Neill Progress Association will present a submission against the proposal, stating its beliefs the currents would bring in debris and pollution from the farms into Port Neill, according to secretary Ros Scrase.
She said the association wanted a 10-kilometre exclusion zone around Port Neill, and exclusion zones from north of Dutton Bay to Lipson Cove.
Members were concerned for tourism, and the district’s pristine beaches and rare tourist-attracting geological rock formations.
“Geologists come from all over to look at them,” she said.
“Port Neill is fairly unique, and we’d like to keep it that way.
“There are claims it will bring us employment, but we’ve got our doubts about that.”
Public consultation over the proposal closes on February 29. The meeting starts at the town hall at 7.30pm, but Mr Bagshaw encouraged people to go along to informal talks from 3pm to 6pm.