Commercial fisher Mark Horne mourns potential losses if Illawarra wind farm goes ahead

He doesn't want the steps taken to make commercial fishing as sustainable as it is now to be all for nothing.

And that's exactly what he thinks will happen if the proposed wind farm off the Illawarra.

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Not only will his business, which he estimates to be valued between $3 and $4 million, be scuttled but so too, he says, will the environment commercial fishers have worked so hard to improve.

The proposal covers 1461 kilometres of ocean, 10 to 30 kilometres offshore between Wombarra and Gerringong. It is nicely nestled in the Eastern Rock Lobster Fishery which extends from the Queensland border to the Victorian border and about 80 miles from the coast.

Even exclusion zones will be of little benefit, Mr Horne says.

When Mr Horne's commercial fishing career began the state of the lobster population, he reckons, "was dire".

In October the fishery earned a coveted certification - it has been recognised by the Marine Stewardship Council as a sustainable fishery.

The significance, Mr Horne says, cannot be under-played.

"I've got a log back that tracks 23 years - every lobster, recorded.

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"That log book the department (of Primary Industries) introduced, gave them a guide. They tagged thousands and thousands of undersized lobsters tracked their migratory patterns and led to the fishery."

"It's bounced back from being in a very desperate state to being one of the world's best fisheries, in my opinion.

"The abundance of sea life out there at the moment is probably the most I've ever seen."

The certification provides commercial advantages but also promotes responsible fishing practices while preserving the marine environment.

Exactly how the proposed wind farm will impact the lobsters deeply concerns Mr Horne.

"When we get the migratory run, there's enough lobsters there to service every lobster fisherman in the state and keep the population sustainable.

"And now we're considering putting cables with electricity going through them on the sea floor?

"It makes no sense."

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It's not just the commercial fishers, like Mr Horne and Frank Musumeci who will suffer, the Wombarra fisher says, but impacts will hit all anglers.

"As it is now, the Illawarra wind farm is going to wipe out all three major game fishing reefs."

Mr Horne has discussed his concerns with Cunningham MP Alison Byrnes, who he described as "very receptive".

But having lived the commercial licence buyback scheme and the introduction of marine parks, Mr Horne, and many of his ilk, remain cautious.

He's asking bureaucrats not to risk a marine ecological catastrophe and believes wind farms are more suitable at Maddens Plains on top of the escarpment "next to peer line corridors".e

"For now, though, all we can do is put in a submission."

Public submissions on the wind farm proposal close on November 15.

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