Shellharbour City Mayor Marianne Saliba is extremely concerned about the potential long-term damage overfishing might have on Lake Illawarra and is urging people to report illegal activity to Fisheries NSW.

Mayor Saliba, Chair of the Lake Illawarra Estuary Management Committee, is alarmed at the number of community accounts of overfishing in the lake recently.

“Like everyone else in our city, I am most concerned about the future of Lake Illawarra. We must do all we can as a community to stop any overfishing or exploitation,” Cr Saliba said.

“It has been heartening to see residents wanting to protect the lake by reporting illegal activity to the Department of Primary Industries Fisheries Compliance team,” Cr Saliba said.

Fishing regulations, such as freshwater and saltwater bag and size limits, apply to help ensure healthy and sustainable fisheries for future generations.

Size limits aim to allow fish to reach maturity and complete their breeding cycle, while bag limits help make sure everyone gets a fair share of the resource and species are not overfished.

“Council wholeheartedly supports Fisheries NSW in its efforts to stop illegal overfishing of the lake by those fishers who are disregarding the law, and I will be personally raising what we have seen occurring recently with NSW Minister for Primary Industries, Niall Blair,” Cr Saliba said.

“I encourage the community to continue to report suspicious and illegal activities.”

Council is monitoring any damage to terrestrial vegetation and rubbish left on site from activity along the shore.

• For issues regarding bag limits and over-fishing, contact the Department of Primary Industries Fisheries Compliance team on 1800 043 536 (Fishers Watch).
• For online reporting of illegal fishing visit the Department of Primary Industries.

Media enquiries: Kelli Wells 0448 361 008.