Clarence Nationals MP Richie Williamson has thrown his support behind local prawn fishers calling for the separation of estuarine and offshore ocean zones in the wake of the latest White Spot detection in ocean waters off the Clarence River.
Mr Williamson described the latest detection – confirmed just weeks before the end of a two-year biosecurity order – as a heartbreaking blow to an industry that has already endured years of hardship.
"For two years, local prawn fishers and small businesses in the Clarence River have done everything asked of them under the biosecurity order," Mr Williamson said.
"They were finally days away from getting back on the water and back to work. Then, another positive test in ocean waters – not the river – pushes that recovery further out of reach."
The recent detection of White Spot came from offshore ocean samples, not from within the Clarence River or its estuary. In fact, extensive 'Proof of Freedom' testing-over 10,000 samples in the Clarence River alone-has returned zero positive detections within the river system.
"The science clearly shows that the estuary remains free of White Spot," Mr Williamson said.
"That's why I support the calls from local fishers to treat the estuarine and offshore areas as separate zones under the biosecurity order."
At a recent stakeholder meeting in Maclean and subsequent discussions with the Aquatic Consultative Committee on Emergency Animal Diseases (AqCCEAD), NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development presented the case for separating the two zones. However, the committee did not reach agreement to make the change.
Mr Williamson said the fishers' request is based on evidence, and the impact of blanket restrictions is being felt deeply across the region.
"These are small, family-run businesses. They've gone two years without income from prawning. Now, they face the same shutdown again, even though the Clarence River remains free of the virus," he said.
"I'm calling on the NSW Government and its biosecurity agencies to listen to the local fishing families and the Clarence River Fishermen's Co-operative -separate the zones, follow the data, and let people get back to work where it is safe to do so."
Mr Williamson also said the need for ongoing support is critical.
"I give full credit to the NSW Government for the financial support provided to fishing families over the past two years-but if this biosecurity order is to be extended again, so too must the support," he said.
"We can't ask these families to survive without a lifeline."
