From rivals to allies: how net fishers recruited those who had fought against them to save their businesses

In the magnificent autumnal sunshine, Luke Anedda carves a vast circle with his boat on the shimmering waters of Corner Inlet, trailing a long net in his wake.

This is known, in commercial fishing parlance, as a “shot” – dropping a single net and then gathering it up in the hope of a plentiful catch.

It is a practice that has become increasingly rare in Victoria. Corner Inlet in South Gippsland is the last bay or inlet anywhere in the state where commercial net fishing is allowed.

Anedda is among just 18 commercial fishing licence holders at Corner Inlet. He fought to protect net fishing when the state Labor government appeared poised to phase it out as it sought to promote recreational fishing.

For almost 30 years, the inlet’s fishers adhered to voluntary limits to avoid overfishing. But when faced with the prospect of a commercial fishing ban, they pressed the state government to make their voluntary code mandatory.

In doing so, they made unlikely allies of recreational fishers, some of whom had been hostile to the commercial sector for years.

The Corner Inlet industry’s decision to lobby the government to formalise their code is widely known and has become local legend. But how they engaged recreational fishers to aid their cause is less known. And their shrewd allegiance underscores something deeper – the political clout and reach of the recreational fishing community.

Next month marks four years since the code was made law and the Victorian Fisheries Authority insists Corner Inlet’s fish stocks remain sustainable.

Anedda is the fourth generation of his family to fish these abundant waters in South Gippsland, supplying his catch to Melbourne’s wholesale seafood market and directly to restaurants.

Early this week he launches his boat from Port Welshpool searching for whiting and calamari above the fine seagrass on the ebb tide with the hills of Wilsons Promontory as the backdrop.

When Anedda begins reeling in the net together with his deckhand, they seem to catch only brown seaweed.

But soon, they are unpicking fish from the net, tossing the bigger ones into a large box. He throws the small ones back into the water with a deft flick of the wrist.

“This is the money fish,” he says, holding the slender body of a long King George whiting in his gloved hand.

And when they gather the end of the net against the nine-metre aluminium boat, it is teeming with fish – various whiting species, flathead, squid and leather jackets.

Business is good. But it was only a short time ago that Corner Inlet’s fishing industry feared anglers, who fish mostly for fun using rods and lines, would spell the end for their businesses.

There was good reason to worry. After the 2014 state election, the Victorian Labor government announced it would cease net fishing in Port Phillip Bay in favour of the recreational version to ensure anglers had plenty of fish available.

Commercial nets were then banned in the Gippsland Lakes following the 2018 election.

“We were going to be next,” Anedda says. “There are no ifs, buts or maybes about it.”

Fishing industry insiders say net fishing at Corner Inlet would almost certainly have been banned were it not for the local commercial fishing industry’s intervention.

Neville Clarke was among those leading the campaign. He has fished at Corner Inlet since 1984. In the early 1990s, boat and net technology improved markedly, allowing fishers to cover more area and bring in bigger catches.

They realised fish stocks would suffer without limits. So, they adopted a voluntary code of conduct restricting each fisher to just two “shots” over a 24-hour period with their seine nets, which form a circular net wall underwater. Previously they could take any number of shots with seine nets.

The code became part of local fishing culture. “It was unwritten law,” Clarke says.

While the government bought out net fishing licences in Port Phillip Bay and Gippsland Lakes, Clarke and Anedda decided to push for the state government to formalise their voluntary code in 2020.

They made the canny, and on the face of it counterintuitive, decision to reach out to then Futurefish Foundation director David Kramer for help.

His group, which is dedicated to protecting recreational fishing, had successfully lobbied the state government to ban nets in Port Phillip and Gippsland Lakes. Kramer, who now works at the Victorian Fisheries Authority, declined to comment.

But Anedda says Kramer supported their push to make their commercial fishing code mandatory at Corner Inlet, allowing them to present a united case to the state government.

“We couldn’t get ourselves in front of a minister without David’s help.”

Kramer, the host of the former Channel 31 TV program Talking Fishing, clearly had the ears of senior figures in the government and its bureaucracy.

During the 2018 election campaign, former premier Daniel Andrews made one of his only television studio appearances on Talking Fishing. He appeared again in 2022, in addition to many frontbenchers.

Since it was elected in 2014, the Victorian Labor government has spent hundreds of millions of dollars courting the hobby fishing community.

Last year, the state government distributed 60,000 “Little Angler” kits with free rods and tackle boxes to primary school children.

Just last month, the government spruiked a “record-breaking fish stocking program” in which 10 million fish were released in waterways, increasing the chances of success for anglers.

Kramer’s support for formalising the voluntary code at Corner Inlet proved crucial and, in June 2020, the state government enshrined it in law.

The Corner Inlet fishers also agreed to use just one type of net in the water at a time, rather than putting out multiple pieces of equipment simultaneously, which also became part of the official rules.

So far, the peace has held between commercial and recreational fishers at Corner Inlet. Kramer’s involvement in the campaign speaks to the immense popularity of recreational fishing in Victoria.

In 2022/23, the authority sold just over 232,000 recreational licences ranging in duration from three days to three years and raising more than $8.1 million.

Anyone aged between 18 and 69 wanting to cast a line in the water must buy a recreational fishing licence in Victoria, which typically costs just under $40 for a year (there are exemptions for various concession cardholders).

But Victorian Fisheries Authority chief executive Travis Dowling says about 1 million people in total take part of some kind of fishing for fun across the state every year.

He believes commercial and recreational fishers now have a relationship that’s built on trust and compromise at Corner Inlet. Dowling says he is unaware of any breaches of the rules.

He also insists fish stocks have not declined at Corner Inlet even with commercial and recreational fishers sharing the water. So, will net fishing continue in Corner Inlet for generations to come? Dowling makes no guarantees to commercial fishers, but insists their practices are sound.

“They are taking every step they can to ensure they have a strong future,” he says.

Dowling agrees recreational fishers made formidable opponents whenever they felt threatened by overfishing by their commercial counterparts.

“Without doubt recreational fishers in Victoria are very passionate and are a very powerful group when they decide to focus on anything that’s important to them.”

Monash University head of politics and international relations Zareh Ghazarian describes angling as a “classic recreational activity” and says the state government has shrewdly crafted policies targeting that community.

“Clearly, the government has identified this as an important part of the Victorian community and Victorian life,” he says.

Former Victorian Labor Party strategist turned pollster Kosmos Samaras says the sheer number of anglers makes them a significant voting group – particularly in marginal seats like Bass, which covers Melbourne’s outer south-east and Bass Coast.

“They will be important in certain parts of the state,” he says.

Lisa Comodromos, incoming executive officer of the Futurefish Foundation, believes fishing enthusiasts may base their vote on whatever party policy best caters for their hobby.

“If we knew it was going to create a better fishing environment for the future, those who are passionate about it will take that into consideration,” she says. “I know it would influence my vote.”

She promises to continue lobbying to ensure fishing remains accessible, including further upgrades to boat ramps.

Comodromos also wants to guarantee fish stocks for future generations, which may involve pushing for reduced bag limits of sought-after fish, including popular whiting species.

Back at Port Welshpool, the evening gathers as Anedda steers the boat towards the port. He switches on the lights so his young son and daughter can spot him out on the water. The children scamper onto the pier as the boat pulls up beside it.

Anedda hopes they might continue the family tradition and work alongside him on his boat when they are old enough.

“I want the opportunity for them to take it up if they choose,” he says.

Perhaps they will take over the family business when Anedda has had enough. Then they can have their own shot at fishing the immaculate waters of Corner Inlet.

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