More than 42,000 people have signed a petition calling for the state government to ban the sale of an enclosed net trap.
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The opera house trap is already banned from use in public waters across Tasmania, because of the threat they can pose to aquatic life including platypuses.
However, the traps can still be bought in stores across the state.
The petition has received mixed reactions from political parties and the body overseeing the interests of recreational fishers, with the Labor Party promising to investigate the issue further.
Petition creator Cat StEvens said, in the petition, the nets trapped indiscriminately and had become a huge problem for the platypus and other animals.
She asked for people to sign the petition to be given to the state government to ban shops from selling the traps when it was formed about a week ago.
The state government said, in response to the petition, the nets were already banned from use and there were penalties in place for breaches.
Labor’s environment spokesman Craig Farrell said the traps clearly shouldn’t be allowed to endanger Tasmania’s precious aquatic species, including the platypus.
“Labor will investigate if there is a loophole allowing their sale and, if there is, we will close it,” Mr Farrell said.
A Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment spokesperson confirmed there have been three recorded cases of platypus deaths from illegal netting, none of them were the result of an opera house net, in the last 12 months.
“Opera house nets (or traps) have been prohibited in inland waters since at least the mid-1970s,” they said.
Under Section 26 (1) of the Inland Fisheries (Recreational Fishing) Regulations 2009, it is an offence for a person to possess or use a net other than a landing net or seine net in inland waters.
Penalties included an infringement notice penalty of $477.
If convicted by the magistrates court, the fine could be up to $1590, and other charges would apply if fish or wildlife were caught, they said.
Tasmanian Association for Recreational Fishing chief executive officer Mark Nikolai said the organisation would support restrictions of the use and sale of these traps if there was evidence to support the claims.
Any trap that fell outside of the state government’s gear restrictions, which included no more than two entrances that were not larger than 65 millimetres, were automatically banned, he said.
“I’ve never heard of a platypus trapped in one of these traps [in Tasmania].”
Tasmanian Platypus Conservation Alliance's Vivienne Briggs said she supported a ban of the sale and possession of all enclosed netting traps in inland waterways.
Banning the traps would act as a deterrent and help to protect Tasmania’s wildlife, she said.
The department spokesperson said illegal netting in inland waters posed a threat to wildlife including platypuses and they encouraged anyone with information to report it to the Inland Fisheries Service’ Manager of Compliance on 0438 338 530.