Prawns will be on the menus of many families over the next few weeks, but people have been urged to only buy Queensland prawns.
The industry has been hit by the current outbreak of white spot disease in the Logan River – which has been quarantined – but there are still plenty of wild-caught and farmed Queensland prawns available.
LNP Member for Coomera Michael Crandon said Queenslanders need to be support local fishermen, local farmers and their families.
“Despite the white spot outbreak in the Logan River, east coast trawler operators have recorded one of their best prawn catches in years,” Mr Crandon said.
“The last thing our local industry needs is for consumers to assume there’s going to be a shortage of prawns due to white spot disease.
“Government and industry needs to work through this outbreak and ensure it doesn’t happen again.
“While white spot poses no risk to humans, it can devastate production.”
Mr Crandon has also called for the current review to be given every resource necessary so the source of the outbreak could hopefully be identified.
“Given that Federal Agriculture Department reports show 73 consignments of imported green prawns have tested positive to white spot since May this year, there needs to be assurance that imports are not infected,” he said.
“The easiest way to ensure that is to make sure all imported prawns are cooked prior to arrival in Australia.
“I’m standing up for my local prawn farmers and trawler operators who’ve invested in their businesses and are now shut down due to white spot.
“Everyone’s waiting for the review process to be completed, but at the end of it we need to have a very hard look at our import protocols and ask the obvious question, if so many consignments are testing positive why are we allowing them in uncooked?
“Any widespread outbreak of white spot will have a major impact on our aquaculture industry as well as trade implications and environmental and social impacts.
“We need to take heed of what the disease has done to farmed prawn production overseas. In the 1990s white spot decimated production in China, Japan, Thailand, and the United States.
“The outbreak on the Logan River also highlighted the need for a national industry agreement to provide an assistance/compensation package.
“It is unfair that the full weight of responsibility has been foisted onto the shoulders of three Logan River farmers at a cost to them of several million dollars.”
Mr Crandon said green prawns could be imported into Australia but they must be cooked before they were sold.
“The requirement to cook before they enter the country will have no impact on volume of prawns coming into Australia because they must be cooked before sale anyway,” he said.
“Prawns can only be imported into Australia for the purpose of human consumption, not for bait.”
