So Long and Thanks for No Fish

Carl Blacklidge’s recent journey up the New South Wales coast was not just a scenic drive; it was a grim tour of what remains of the state’s once-thriving commercial fishing industry. Once-bustling fishing villages, where fresh seafood was a proud staple of the community, now sit eerily silent, stripped of their identity.

Carl began his journey at Crowdy Head, a town that, not long ago, boasted a thriving fishing industry. Today, there is no fish shop, no cooperative, and no commercial fishing activity to speak of. The waters remain, but the fishers are gone.

Laurieton was next on his list. The town’s fish cooperative, a vital link between local fishers and consumers, has been reduced to ashes. Without commercial fishers, the town now lacks access to fresh, locally sourced seafood. It’s a pattern Carl found disturbingly consistent as he continued north.

At Evans Head, another empty shell. No fish shop, no cooperative, no professional fishers. In Ballina, only four trawlers remained, and despite the town’s long history of commercial fishing, Carl struggled to find a single fish shop selling fresh seafood.

Brunswick Heads? The same story. No fish shop, no cooperative, and no fishing industry to speak of.

Tweed Heads? One trawler, one glimmer of hope—prawns, the only fresh seafood Carl could buy directly from the source.

A Vanishing Industry

For generations, Australian fishers have braved the elements to bring fresh, local seafood to the tables of families up and down the coast. But as Carl’s journey painfully illustrates, the tides are turning—not because the fish are gone, but because the policies of the NSW government have systematically dismantled the industry.

Once-flourishing fishing communities have been left to wither, their infrastructure crumbling or lost to fire, their boats sold off or left to rust, and their livelihoods stripped away by reforms that favour corporate interests and imported seafood over hardworking local fishers.

The Cost to Consumers

Beyond the loss of an industry, what does this mean for the average Australian? The right to access fresh, locally caught seafood is being eroded. Supermarkets and restaurants increasingly rely on imports—often frozen, often farmed, and sometimes of questionable quality—while the rich, diverse seafood once caught off our own shores becomes a rarity.

The irony? Australia is surrounded by some of the most abundant and sustainable fisheries in the world. Yet our policies are making fresh Australian seafood harder to come by.

A Call to Action

Carl’s trip should be a wake-up call, not just for policymakers but for all Australians. If you care about fresh, locally sourced seafood, if you value the communities that have relied on the ocean for generations, it’s time to demand change.

Minister Tara Moriarty, will you take the same journey Carl did? Will you visit these towns and see for yourself the devastation caused by the government’s policies?

For the sake of our fishers, our communities, and our right to fresh seafood, we can’t afford to let this issue sink beneath the waves. This posts was inspired by a letter sent to the Minister from Carl Blacklidge

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