VICTORIA’S fisheries department is proposing to close its Mornington station and replace it with a “community office” in Carrum under a new model stakeholder groups fear would lead to weaker compliance and increased illegal fishing.
The community hub would be “education only”, according to the Community and Public Sector Union (CSPU), with nine engagement officers to serve the whole Port Phillip and Western Port Bay areas, resulting in a 66 per cent staff reduction.
A Victorian Fisheries Authority (VFA) has not made a formal announcement on the changes. Instead, a spokesperson said in a statement its future was “focused on education and engaging the community with fishing, and some workforce changes have been proposed to reflect this”. “Our workforce will focus on keeping compliance levels high, and on major fishing crime, while working closely with the community to provide them the education and resources they need to fish responsibly,” the spokesperson said.
The CPSU said along with the Mornington station, fisheries offices at Cowes, Braeside, Altona North and Queenscliff are also proposed to be closed. The VFA did however confirm a new community office was planned for Carrum with new offices also planned for Tooradin and St Leonards. Fisheries officers would still operate around Port Phillip and Western Port. All changes are proposed at this stage with no plans having been finalised.
According to the CPSU, 73 fisheries officer positions throughout the state would be replaced with 36 engagement officer positions. The VFA did not specify any reasons as to why it was making the sudden changes nor whether it was under pressure to meet any state government funding cuts, only that “we’re confident our new operating model means fishing in Victoria will be as good into the future as it is today”.
The spokesperson also noted they were consulting with employees and the union on workforce changes and would provide “all staff with the support they need through this period”. It would also continue to “provide the resources, services and education the fishing community needs, as required by legislation”.
But the controversial move has alarmed stakeholder groups and the CPCU that it would reduce the region’s capacity to enforce fisheries regulations. “This proposal raises huge safety concerns for our members who will be forced to work one up in situations that can become unsafe very quickly,” the CPSU’s acting branch secretary Wayne Townsend said in a statement.
Townsend added fisheries officers were already operating at 30 per cent vacancy rate which was below the 10 per cent cut,” adding it was a “fictitious view” that compliance rates were high and needed no maintenance going forward. Overall Townsend said significant risks included an increase in non-compliance leading to the “destruction” of the aquatic environment, no protection for marine national parks and sanctuaries, and an “obliteration of a proud branch that has serviced the Victorian community for generations”.
Advocacy group Protect Victorian Fisheries has launched a change.org petition, which has garnered more than 6000 signatures calling for the reinstatement of fisheries officers, stopping the closure of stations, and protecting fish stocks for future generations. The Victorian National Parks Association (VNPA) warned the proposed cuts would leave the state’s marine parks and wildlife “virtually unprotected and vulnerable to widespread illegal fishing”.
First published in the Frankston Times, 25 February 2025