Commercial fisherman say green zones to blame for downturn in number of bugs caught in Moreton Bay An Auction for Moreton Bay bugs begins at Raptis Fish Markets. Deckhand Luke Mohan-Druce takes bugs from the trawler Romio to be weighed at the Scarborough boat harbour. MORETON Bay bugs may need a new moniker, with commercial fishermen reporting a massive drop in the number caught in the waters they're named after. While surveys show bug numbers in Queensland are "sustainable" and catches up north are good, old hands and new bloods in the industry say they are pulling less than ever before out of Moreton Bay itself. Wet weather, urban development, no-fishing "green zones" and new rules for catching females have all been blamed for the downturn, which has seen some fishermen abandon their seasonal focus on the bug completely. Commercial fisherman Scott Edwards, who has worked Moreton Bay for bugs since 1990, said he was suffering financially from the drop, and could not keep up with demand from customers. "For my business, it's a massive downturn in turnover and it's a massive income loss," he said. He said while seasonal change always had an impact on his business, the diminished catch was largely due to the bay's designated green zones, which were declared in 2009 under the former state government and include a prime hunting spot for bugs. "We've lost 70 per cent of the area we used to work," he said. That area is your dominant bug area, where the majority of bugs have been caught since I've been in the industry (and) where I used to make my predominant amount of money out of bugs. Derek Adcock, owner of trawlers Romio and Excelsior G, said high rainfalls had also led to low bug catches, which didn't make it worth their while to target them. "At the moment it's just not cost effective to go out and get them because of the cost of the fuel and the prices they set for us to pay to the co-op," he said. On Friday morning The Courier-Mail met the Romio at Scarborough, which, after about 48 hours at sea, had pulled up only 23kg of bugs. Deckhand Luke Mohan-Druce said the haul was not a good result considering they had spent some time focusing on bugs. Another commercial fisherman, who did not wish to be named, said he used to regularly pull up 100kg of the crustacean on trips in the bay before the green zones were declared. "The last couple of years it hasn't warranted me to go and have a look (and) I went out two nights last week and didn't have much at all," he said. If I could work in that area now I'd still be getting 100 kilos a night. He said another impact had been changed rules that allow commercial fishers to keep female bugs that were with eggs, but a Fisheries Queensland spokesman said the rule change was requested by the industry to compensate for green zones closing off bug habitats. While local fishers are reporting a decline in their catch, further north commercial fishers are pulling in a bumper crop. Moreton Bay Seafood Industry Association director Dave Sterling said there was a strong population of bugs overall, and commercial fishers off Tin Can Bay and Yeppoon had reported large catches. He said urban sprawl, wet weather, and the green zones could be responsible for the drop in Moreton Bay, and fishermen who relied on bugs to get them through the off-season were finding slim pickings. "You can't catch them twice (and) there's not as much territory as there used to be," he said. When it comes to this time of year and they sweat on a fair population of bugs being there, they're looking at a situation where they've already caught them. Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service acting deputy director-general Jason Jacobi said Moreton Bay had 16 per cent green zone, which was negotiated by the previous government, leaving 84 per cent for all recreational and most commercial activities. He said no review was planned at this stage.