Prawn Alert on DPI web

[Dirtysanchez]

Good on you for chasing the DPI LeeannP, thats brilliant !

All the major supermarkets push their wholesalers to a price, and even then they often cut that down, I know a strawberry farmer who had an agreement for xx per kilo, so he planted the crop. When it was matured they came back and said nahh, half the original price or we will just import some from the USA & you can bury your crop.

He told them to shove it and his family sold most of it by the raodside around Brissy.

So, they charge us top dollar and expect to pay peanuts for it from the growers, why would it be different for seafood ?

As for the DPI palming it off to the federal government I reckon that is bullshite !!

Prawns are off my list now until I can find a decent reliable local supplier, or until I can master that bloody cast net !

[jim_farrell]

I seem to remember 12 months ago when the central queensland citrus growers were burning all their trees to destroy an imported bug that it made the front page of papers and tv bulletins. Yet when an equal threat faces our local prawning industry, all that is mentioned is that rec fishos should be careful with their bait.
Surely any product should be disease free before entering our country.

Federally the law allows the importation of seafood. Now I disagree that it should be allowed, however that isn't the issue here.'Biosecurity' is the federal department responsible for screening these prawns.

Their email is 'biosecurityaustralia@daff.gov.au'

That said, surely DPI have a responsability to the local prawn industry to make sure that all imports are disease free, whether it is a life threatning disease or not.

State minister for primary industries is tim mulherin.
email ' dpi@ministerial.qld.gov.au'

This should be on today tonight, a current affair and front page of most papers.
I never thought i'd see the day that we would be told that something is safe to eat but not safe to use as bait. >

[timbacutta]

If these prawns are not safe for us or for the prawns stocks why the hell do they allow them to be imported. Wether it is the State Government or the Federal Government who authorised the importation in the fist place, surely if it has been proved they are unsafe as the DPI alert has stated, then the importation licence must be revoked immeadiately. Isn't that what we pay these Govenment agencies for in the first place. > >

Refuse to buy the imported stuff personly, but plenty do. Too late to shut the gate after the horse has bolted.

Jeff.

[jim_farrell]

Apparently they are ok for human consumption.

[insideout]

its sort of like for example ,everybody knows that smoking will probably kill you eventually, but the gov wil not ban it because of the money it generates for them, in short ,if it lines their pockets with cash,and they can get away with it .they will try it on, no matter the product.....

[Green]

The prawns spoke of and the diseases they carry may not be harmful to us directly, but you can bet your last buck the antibiotics they pump 'em full of could well be very harmful to us in the right quantities. Perhaps this is why the importation of these prawns is banned throughout America and Europe, sadly not Australia because there's a profit to be made by the supermarkets and the government. No different with the mekong catfish they're farming and sending over here or the rest of the garbage they're importing that's stripping the ass out of our economy. Like Hornblower said, ban the imports before it all turns to crap. Next time you're in Woolworths or Coles, ask the name of the additive they use to keep their fish looking new and smelling fresh, or alternatively you can believe that their product is so fresh it lasts for a week on the shelf.

[Dirtysanchez]

Let me tell you I was in Malaysia in April this year and the people I was visiting thought it would be a treat to take me to a fish farm seeing as I was a fisho.. there was a restaurant attached to this "farm"

It was just like you see on the TV, the poor fish were caged in swamp like conditions, all their rubbish and filth poured into the water and most of the seafood, like lobster and prawn that was served up was undersize to our standard..

Not good, never thought I would leave such a place hungry, but there ya go.
I don't think we should be accepting any seafood from places where they have little or no standards towards the hygeine or health of the produce that they intend on exporting

I can see those picket lines outside the supermarkets now !!!

[Camo]

Big_unit is right. Try bringing a kilo of fresh prawns through customs and see how far you get. But the big retailers can bring in container loads of them with no problem.

Camo

[Got_the_Fever]

Hi All

It isnt just the supermarkets involved. I was at a seafood market in redcliffe a couple of months ago because they had a special on bay prawns. The only problem was these prawns where not bay prawns, they had been imported from Thailand. It was plainly labeled on the box that they were taking the prawns out of and putting onto the ice(this was both green and cooked). A few of the customers asked the women who was serving why they where selling thai prawns when the ad said locally caught bay prawns.

The only answer she could give is that the managment tell the staff what the prices are of the product they have. The answer has to come from us customers and the only way to do that is NOT to buy from those who treat us like fools or lie about the origin of the product. These days I only buy my prawns from a friend who catches them locally. This isnt possible for everyone I know, but it is a start.

Kel [smiley=2vrolijk_08.gif]

[Hornblower]

Like I said yesterday fellow Fisho's, It is part of our obligations as signatories to the World Trade Agreement, and you know why - it is because the United Nations is dictating that other countries are not to be disadvantaged and of course the big supermarkets are playing off this by buying the stuff so they can make a quick buck. If we withdrew our support the UN would argue that we are directly causing third world workers to be exploited. My argument is that we are causing workers to be exploited and also putting our own environment, not to mention our own health at risk. Why can't we withdraw and simply say that if the produce does not meet the standards of the produce at home, then we will NOT import it into the country. Then the overseas exporters will be forced to lift their game, but no, if we do that, according to the agreement, then our produce exports will be banned from countries such as Japan and the US where there is such a huge market for us, and again, we lose out, or do we? It will then force the big supermarket chains to buy local seafood and sell it back into our economy. Something esle to think about - I bet when the Chief Executive of Coles or Woolworths sits down at lunch on Christmas Day, they're not having a couple tastless banana/tiger/king prawns from some Vietnamese cesspit that they sell in their own store. It would be nothing but the best!

Sorry for the rant guys, but this really has me worked up and I will find out why, off the relevant Federal Govt Agency tomorrow, and I will get back to you tomorrow night, probably with another broadside. > >

Till then, Cheers.

[Haji-Baba]

Go for it. If all you good people feel disadvantaged by the standards of prawn or fish imports add in the quality of fuel from overseas. You will get a shock if you delve into this one.
And don't think when you vote in our next election, Fedral or State that your choice of member will do much to help.
This country is now being governed by "Big Business" and Ceo's of overseas companies.

Just look at the salaries some of these people claim.

Yes the standards of imports is very suspect but don't wait for any department to take any positive action.
The citrus canker debacle is a classic example.
It goes on all over the country and will continue to erode our standards
and very little action will take place.

Don't get excited go fishing.

Have fun Haji-Baba.

[GAFYM]

Guys,
Inside out and Green got it spot on....Money. I have a mate who is a pro fisherman at Iluka. Must sell his product to the co-op and the prawns are gone asap overseas. I will only buy my prawns to eat and for bait from the prawn farms down Woolgoolba way. Still kicking if u want it so. Cheaper than the crap from the Department stores and FRESH. Taste as good as the genuine stuff.
There is a place just out of Townsville (If i remember right..too old) called AIMS (Aust Institute for Marine Science),if u ever get the chance to visit do so as it is a real eye opener to what is happening in the marine science world. Some of the stuff these guys are doing in the Aquaculture region is mind boggling especially prawn farming/production.

[DICER]

I think that this is a good safeguard that the DPI is issuing, given that prawns are imported - and that it is not going change very quickly in the immediate future!. Fortunately this message has hit a target - us recreational fishos, and we have to take extra care about where we are getting our green prawns for fishing.

I'm sure that several labs DPI, CSIRO, AQIS and AAHL are currently testing for these viruses in imported stock as we speak. Currently I'm living in the Netherlands and there appears to be no restriction on imported prawns at the local markets. They come from as wide as Mexico, Maylsia, Brazil and Thai. The wider the importation, the higher the risk of disease. Furthermore I can tell you they none of the imports taste as good as Australian ones - Tigers, Bananas, Greasys, Kings - whatever.

[dasher]

Here's a reply I got from DPI after suggesting that perhaps the uncooked prawns shouldn't be bought into the country in the first place:

"Both the issue of importing green (uncooked) prawns and the country of origin labelling are managed by the Federal Government and as such the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries does not control this legislation. However, DPI&F are taking proactive steps to ensure people are aware of the risks associated with using imported green (uncooked) prawns as bait and encouraging people to make the right decision."

So the Federal Government opens the gates and the DPI&F have to chase the horse that's bolted. Hmmm..... there are some clever people running our country

Yeah check out the customs website and you can't find anything, if it's not customs or DPI who's next.??

[shaman]

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ARGH-ARGH-ARGH-ARGH-ARGH-ARGH-ARGH-ARGH-ARGH-ARGH.

W T F is going on here Australia...............
FOR GODS SAKE........................................
WHO IS ANSWERABLE FOR THIS $HIT.......

I @#$%$#@ MAD AND I DON'T CARE WHO I BURN. THIS CRAP HAS GOTTA
STOP.....................WHAT ABOUT OUR KIDS AND GRANDKIDS, WHAT ARE THEY GONNA EAT ??????????????????........................BILLY