SCIENTISTS have warned people heading off on school holidays not to use imported seafood from supermarkets as bait because it may spread disease.
It is still unclear exactly how white spot disease entered south-east Queensland although evidence suggests it was likely through imported prawns being used as bait.
Acting chief biosecurity officer Malcolm Letts said people going fishing should check their bait before throwing a line in.
“There are just a few simple steps that every fisher can take to ensure our waterways are kept free of disease. Firstly, wait until you’ve reached your destination and get your bait from a local bait shop or catch your own,” Mr Letts said.
“Imported prawns purchased from the supermarket are too risky to be used as bait as they may contain disease such as white spot disease, and as we have seen already, they can have a devastating effect on our seafood industry as well as our environment.
“Also, if you are fishing within the white spot movement restriction area, which runs from Caloundra to the New South Wales border and west to Ipswich, then you must remember not to take prawns, yabbies or marine worms caught in the area, outside of the area.
“Bait purchased within the movement restriction area cannot be taken outside the area either. These rules are in place to stop the spread of white spot disease to other non-affected areas.
“Our last round of surveillance in April showed that white spot disease is still prevalent in the Moreton Bay region, especially around Redcliffe Peninsula and Deception Bay. Therefore, we must do everything we can to ensure it does not spread.”
In February University of the Sunshine Coast professor Wayne Knibb revealed that about one-third of prawns bought from 10 retail outlets were infected with white spot.
White spot poses no risk to human health but is deadly to prawns.
A white spot outbreak in 2016 is estimated to have cost prawn farmers and associated industries almost $400 million.
White spot was found in the Logan River south of Brisbane in 2016.
