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Katie Woolf spoke with AFANT CEO David Ciaravolo · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Joining me in the studio right now from fant It
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: is the Amateur Fisherman's Association and I have got David
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: Girovolo in.
• 0:07
  Speaker 2: Here with me. Good morning morning, Katy.
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: Lovely to see you and David. There's always plenty going on,
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: particularly when we talk about fishing. First off, I did
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: want to ask you. I know that the government announced
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: yesterday's seabed mining has been banned. From the Amateur Fishermen's
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: Association perspective, is this a good thing?
• 0:26
  Speaker 2: Look, it's very good news.
• 0:27
  Speaker 3: It gives us certainty that those critical habitats are going
• 0:32
  Speaker 3: to be protected. Yeah, we've made a number of submissions
• 0:35
  Speaker 3: over the years in the lead up to the moratorium
• 0:38
  Speaker 3: and then also when the EPA was conducting its review
• 0:41
  Speaker 3: and investigation, and so we were really pleased with the
• 0:45
  Speaker 3: interim report that was handed down by the EPA that
• 0:48
  Speaker 3: led towards the government adopting this as a formal position,
• 0:52
  Speaker 3: and now with it being signed into law, it's really
• 0:56
  Speaker 3: really good news because we don't want to see our
• 0:58
  Speaker 3: seabeds being mined. It's really important that those areas are protected.
• 1:02
  Speaker 3: They already provide a hell of a lot of other benefits,
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  Speaker 3: including economic benefits well.
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  Speaker 1: And as you and I have spoken about on so
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: many occasions, we know that you know, fishing is just
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: one part of it, but we know that you know
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: that the fishing obviously are recreational fishes. Will this you know,
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: they actually provide so much when it comes to the
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: economy ticking over as well. And then we have people
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  Speaker 1: traveling to the Northern Territory, not so much during COVID,
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: but traveling to the territory for their recreational fishing. I mean,
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: anything that could potentially jeopardize that and jeopardize our way
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: of life here in the territory when it comes to
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: fishing and enjoying the outdoors is something that we're probably
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: all going to be really questioning going ahead. So I
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: think that on this occasion it's probably a good announcement
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: by the government.
• 1:44
  Speaker 3: I look, certainly, and you take recreational fishing, it's only
• 1:48
  Speaker 3: one of the many benefits provided by the immediate marine ecosystem.
• 1:53
  Speaker 3: It's valued at over one hundred million dollars a year.
• 1:57
  Speaker 3: You know, we've got new figures coming probably more than that,
• 2:00
  Speaker 3: depending on how you measure it. But then when you
• 2:03
  Speaker 3: look at tourism and all of the other things that
• 2:05
  Speaker 3: rely on us having healthy coastlines.
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: It's worth even more than that.
• 2:10
  Speaker 3: And I think the thing that's really important to note
• 2:12
  Speaker 3: is a lot of the other industries, like tourism and
• 2:14
  Speaker 3: recreational fishing, they're sustainable.
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: They're highly highly sustainable.
• 2:19
  Speaker 3: So yes, we do take some fish, but we never
• 2:21
  Speaker 3: take more fish than can be left there to replace
• 2:24
  Speaker 3: those fish back. And there's a lot of catch and
• 2:26
  Speaker 3: release and tourism that doesn't even impact on.
• 2:28
  Speaker 2: The resource at all.
• 2:29
  Speaker 3: So it's great to see a more sustainable future being
• 2:32
  Speaker 3: planned for the territory.
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: Now, speaking of well some of the different different things
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: that are happening when it comes to fishing, we know
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: that Point Stewart it is an area where we've been
• 2:42
  Speaker 1: anticipating some work happening. The government yesterday saying following the
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: design tend to being awarded for the Point Stewart Access Road,
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: the territory governments are released to tender to upgrade eleven
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: point eight kilometers of that popular road. David, what does
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: this mean for the fishing for fishing.
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: In the territory. Look, this is a big win for
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: fishing in the territory.
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  Speaker 3: It's something that fant has been championing for a number
• 3:06
  Speaker 3: of years, I think all the way back to twenty
• 3:08
  Speaker 3: fifteen and before. So we're really pleased to see that
• 3:12
  Speaker 3: there is finally the construction tender for that Stage one
• 3:16
  Speaker 3: that is out there. We've been working really hard behind
• 3:19
  Speaker 3: the scenes. It's also the number one priority that was
• 3:22
  Speaker 3: put forward by the Minister's Recreational Fishing Advisory Committee as well,
• 3:26
  Speaker 3: so there has been broad support. It is one that
• 3:29
  Speaker 3: I have to say there are some split views in
• 3:32
  Speaker 3: the community on and that's because we have a really
• 3:35
  Speaker 3: broad church of people and so at the moment, this
• 3:38
  Speaker 3: is an area that's a little bit harder to get
• 3:40
  Speaker 3: to and there's a few people who go there and
• 3:41
  Speaker 3: love it that way, but look, we've got a broader.
• 3:44
  Speaker 2: View of fishing in the Northern Territory.
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  Speaker 3: It's absolutely important to make sure that we are expanding
• 3:48
  Speaker 3: the opportunities for everybody to be able to go fishing.
• 3:52
  Speaker 3: And upgrading this to a wider, more accessible dirt road
• 3:58
  Speaker 3: means that more people can get in there, more people
• 4:00
  Speaker 3: can get in there at more times of the year,
• 4:03
  Speaker 3: and that will open up easier access to a range
• 4:06
  Speaker 3: of other fishing grounds because let's face it, fishing in
• 4:08
  Speaker 3: the territory shouldn't be about arriving at a boat ramp
• 4:10
  Speaker 3: with sixty other cars in the car park every time,
• 4:13
  Speaker 3: as has become the case in Shady Camp. We want
• 4:16
  Speaker 3: to see investment in project like Points Stewart, which we've
• 4:19
  Speaker 3: been championing so strongly, and then we also want to
• 4:23
  Speaker 3: see more access in more places continuing to be opened
• 4:26
  Speaker 3: up over time.
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: Well, and speaking of my understanding is that there was
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: that election commitment made where fifty million dollars would be
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: invested into the industry and into that infrastructure for fishing.
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: Where is that ash that infrastructure spent?
• 4:41
  Speaker 3: So that commitment was a twenty sixteen election commitment, it's
• 4:45
  Speaker 3: something that we got reconfirmed at the last territory election
• 4:49
  Speaker 3: last year. And I think it's absolutely fair to say
• 4:51
  Speaker 3: that the Point Stewart project has been a big part
• 4:54
  Speaker 3: of that. There's been a lot of unknown quantities in
• 4:57
  Speaker 3: terms of how much this project would cost. We certainly
• 5:00
  Speaker 3: avid a lower cost builded in stages over time model,
• 5:05
  Speaker 3: so and I'll have to say I've been really pleased
• 5:08
  Speaker 3: that we've been able to work with the Department and
• 5:11
  Speaker 3: with the ministers to get that approach and come to fruition.
• 5:15
  Speaker 3: But more broadly speaking, if you look at the budget
• 5:17
  Speaker 3: papers for this year, there's still notionally thirty two and
• 5:21
  Speaker 3: a half million dollars of that fifty million dollars that
• 5:23
  Speaker 3: was yet to be spent.
• 5:25
  Speaker 1: So it still hasn't been spent from the twenty sixteen commitments.
• 5:27
  Speaker 3: Well, that's correct, So clearly some of it will go
• 5:30
  Speaker 3: towards the Point Stuart project. There are other projects that
• 5:33
  Speaker 3: have been prioritized by the ARFAC and that have been
• 5:36
  Speaker 3: advocated by AFAND, but it is really important now into
• 5:40
  Speaker 3: that second term of government that we are seeing really
• 5:44
  Speaker 3: movement on the delivery of those projects. So last month
• 5:48
  Speaker 3: we wrote to Chief Minister and Treasurer to seek because
• 5:51
  Speaker 3: it wasn't clear to us from the budget papers if
• 5:53
  Speaker 3: that money was held in quarantine fund. It looked like
• 5:56
  Speaker 3: it was part of a general infrastructure fund. We're of
• 5:59
  Speaker 3: the view that should be in a quarantine fishing Futures
• 6:02
  Speaker 3: fund that can be used to fund projects and programs
• 6:06
  Speaker 3: that support the development of recreational fishing in the Northern Territory,
• 6:09
  Speaker 3: as was the stated intent. We're still awaiting a response
• 6:12
  Speaker 3: for that.
• 6:13
  Speaker 1: So when did you contact them about that?
• 6:14
  Speaker 2: Well, that was right to them.
• 6:15
  Speaker 3: That's about a month ago, so look to be fair,
• 6:18
  Speaker 3: it's within the realm of reasonable time to get a response,
• 6:23
  Speaker 3: but certainly we're hoping for a positive response to that today.
• 6:27
  Speaker 3: There's nothing that's been said by the government to back
• 6:29
  Speaker 3: away from any of its commitments. But one of the
• 6:31
  Speaker 3: things that we're really clear about is that that funding
• 6:33
  Speaker 3: needs to be available so that as projects do come online,
• 6:37
  Speaker 3: as design tenders are completed, that they can turn into
• 6:41
  Speaker 3: reality on the ground.
• 6:42
  Speaker 2: I have to.
• 6:43
  Speaker 3: Say this is a good example. The Point Stuart announcements
• 6:46
  Speaker 3: a good example of when it became available, the funding
• 6:49
  Speaker 3: became available.
• 6:50
  Speaker 1: Do you know, do we have any idea at this
• 6:53
  Speaker 1: point how much the Point Stuart project is costing.
• 6:57
  Speaker 3: I don't think the I think that'll be revealed once
• 7:00
  Speaker 3: the tender responses come back. There was a fairly broad
• 7:04
  Speaker 3: ballpark figure when we first raised this one. You know,
• 7:08
  Speaker 3: there was a lot of view of it would be
• 7:10
  Speaker 3: bigger than Ben hur and I think we had to
• 7:12
  Speaker 3: be realistic about it. I mean, there's a we've got
• 7:15
  Speaker 3: a boat ramp that's built on public land, yeah, with
• 7:18
  Speaker 3: no road to it. Yeah, so it's really important to
• 7:20
  Speaker 3: connect it in the first.
• 7:21
  Speaker 1: Instance, but are we thinking that that's going to cost
• 7:23
  Speaker 1: you know, the thirty two million dollars there remaining.
• 7:26
  Speaker 2: Yeah, so there should.
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: There is definitely still other money that could be spent
• 7:30
  Speaker 1: on in fishing infrastructure.
• 7:31
  Speaker 3: There is significant money remaining and there are a range
• 7:35
  Speaker 3: of projects that have been identified, so from some interventions
• 7:39
  Speaker 3: at Dundee to better optimize that system, to installing a
• 7:44
  Speaker 3: jetty or a lamb based fishing platform for Darwin. Darwin
• 7:48
  Speaker 3: arguably the fishing capital of Australia. Catera's really poorly to
• 7:51
  Speaker 3: lamd based fishes in having safe places to fish.
• 7:54
  Speaker 2: To speaking to your producer.
• 7:56
  Speaker 3: Earlier on, he said, I'm newly arrived and I'm worried
• 7:58
  Speaker 3: about crocodiles and where and go fishing, And that's totally reason.
• 8:01
  Speaker 2: That's right.
• 8:02
  Speaker 3: We need to be providing more safe places for families
• 8:05
  Speaker 3: and individuals to be able to go fishing. So that's
• 8:08
  Speaker 3: firmly on our agenda as well. We've got a range
• 8:11
  Speaker 3: of other projects that are there. Hey, look, I was
• 8:13
  Speaker 3: fishing at Dinah Beach twice over the long weekend. Both
• 8:17
  Speaker 3: times I had to park over a kilometer away in
• 8:20
  Speaker 3: front of in front of the shops around the corner.
• 8:24
  Speaker 3: Clearly there are a lot of us getting out there fishing,
• 8:26
  Speaker 3: pumping money into the economy, sharing those benefits with our
• 8:29
  Speaker 3: family enjoying a fresh feed of seafood. But also we
• 8:34
  Speaker 3: do have infrastructure needs that we've got to keep the
• 8:35
  Speaker 3: gas on and keep investing. It's only once we invest
• 8:38
  Speaker 3: it and see the benefits of it that we can
• 8:40
  Speaker 3: mount the case to continue that investment.
• 8:42
  Speaker 2: Hey, we are.
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: Running out of time, but I do want to ask
• 8:45
  Speaker 1: you very quickly, I understand or you're telling me all
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: for that there's a review of our barraer. What exactly
• 8:51
  Speaker 1: does this mean?
• 8:51
  Speaker 3: Yeah, so again this is an election commitment both too,
• 8:55
  Speaker 3: I think Fan but also to the Northern Land Council
• 8:58
  Speaker 3: around reviewing the Barren Mine fishery. We've got a fantastic
• 9:02
  Speaker 3: barrow mundy fishery, certainly the best barrow fishery in the world.
• 9:06
  Speaker 3: That's a natural fishery, but it can definitely be better.
• 9:10
  Speaker 3: Interventions over the years have made it as good as
• 9:14
  Speaker 3: it is today, and we've gone from having a thousand
• 9:17
  Speaker 3: tons of fish caught commercially in the past to more
• 9:20
  Speaker 3: commonly four hundred tons now. We've seen the recreational fishing
• 9:24
  Speaker 3: sector really step up through catch and release, collecting data,
• 9:27
  Speaker 3: through tagging programs and having fish management zones to protect
• 9:30
  Speaker 3: the fish. But we need to incorporate that into a
• 9:33
  Speaker 3: management framework that guides the future development of the fishery
• 9:37
  Speaker 3: in a positive trajectory to get the most out of
• 9:39
  Speaker 3: it for the whole community. So that's just starting. All
• 9:43
  Speaker 3: eyes are watching it. I'm getting so much comment and commentary.
• 9:46
  Speaker 3: I'm happy to come back again an update. I reckon
• 9:48
  Speaker 3: the process kicks off, but just to say it does
• 9:50
  Speaker 3: kick off at the beginning of next month.
• 9:53
  Speaker 1: Awesome. Well David, it's always great to talk to you.
• 9:55
  Speaker 1: Thank you so very much for your time this morning.
• 9:57
  Speaker 1: We appreciate you coming in.
• 9:58
  Speaker 2: Thanks Katie.
• 9:59
  Speaker 1: That's David Revolo there, the chief executive of AFAN here
• 10:03
  Speaker 1: in the Northern Territory. I