Commercial Fishermen protest outside court

Commercial fishermen have gathered outside the NSW Land and Environment Court to support a landmark case aimed at protecting the state's fishing industry.

The Professional Fishers Association, or Profish, has launched action against Fisheries Minister Eddie Obeid over a decision to either partially or completely close 10 of NSW's top 24 seafood producing estuaries to commercial fishing.

Instead they will become recreational fishing areas. Outside the court, Profish secretary Graeme Hillyard said the association was not opposed to the creation of recreation fishing zones.

But it wanted an environmental impact statement to be done before they were approved.

"We're suing Minister Obeid for his failure to carry out environmental assessments of recreational fishing when he's agreed to carry (them out) on commercial fishing," Mr Hillyard told AAP.

"We belive that uncontrolled ... fishing of any description is not sustainable in our present environment.

"All fishing has environmental consequences. What we're saying is that before those changes are made, all those consequences should be fully explored and fully examined."

Mr Hillyard said the minister's plan would cut 300 jobs and may force seafood prices up by more than 20 per cent because seafood caught and sold in regional areas would no longer be available.

"If you reduce supply (and) increase demand, the only thing that can happen is prices will go up," Mr Hillyard said.

"For example in Taree last year, they sold $688,000 worth of local product to local consumers. It stopped people who sold seafood coming to Sydney to bid for seafood."

The case began 30/01/02.

The Ministers comments can be found here