Animal welfare issues worry fishing industry

TASMANIA - An education campaign about animal welfare when fishing could be more effective than introducing regulations, Tasmania's peak commercial fishing body says.

Tasmanian Fishing Industry Council chief executive Andrew Febey said the sheer complexity of applying animal welfare standards like those already in force for land animals to fish and seafood species needed to be taken into consideration.

He said commercial fisheries were complex and dynamic, and setting rigid standards could be difficult.

As part of a review of the state's Animal Welfare Act 1993, a working group has stated that animal welfare standards should be applied to commercial and recreational fishing.

Mr Febey said the aquaculture industry already had self-regulating guidelines about the welfare of fish and crustaceans, and the industry as a whole took the issue seriously.

Source: The Mercury