Australia-Cyclone damages fishing industry.

AUSTRALIA-FISHING AFTER THE CYCLONE.

The Queensland Seafood Industry Association (QSIA) says it is disappointed fishing regulations will not be relaxed to help commercial operators affected by Cyclone Hamish.

Fishermen are reporting half their normal catch in southern parts of the Great Barrier Reef.

The QSIA met state and Federal Government representatives last week to ask that regulations be relaxed.

They had previously asked for part of the reef to be declared a natural disaster zone, but president Neil Green says research funding may be the only form of assistance available.

"There seems to be some funding available that allows us to go out and fish commercially ... actually get some funding to supplement the small catches in the areas affected, so that we can monitor with scientists on board exactly the effects and get some real true effects of what’s happened here and how it recovers," he said.