Trawlers back after RAAF base bans lifted

Flathead is off the menu but local prawns will be back on the plate in no time with fishing bans north of Newcastle to be lifted following contamination concerns from a nearby RAAF base.

Commercial and recreational fishing closures at Fullerton Cove and Tilligerry Creek will be lifted on Saturday almost five years after toxic chemicals used at the Williamtown RAAF base were discovered in groundwater.

Restrictions remain in place on dusky flathead caught in the Hunter River after elevated and highly variable levels of PFAS - chemicals used in firefighting foams - were detected.

Third generation fisherman Geoff Hyde, 80, said the fishing community received the "shock of our lives" after the news was announced at a meeting at Williamtown on Tuesday morning.

"As far as I think nearly everybody was concerned, Fullerton Cove would never open," he said.

"I wasn't the only one shocked, we did not expect this, not at all."

Deputy director general DPI Fisheries Geoff Allan said while the presence of PFAS was detected in some seafood, the levels are of minimal risk to consumers.

"The public can be confident that seafood for sale is safe to eat," Dr Allan said.

Mr Hyde, who has been trawling for more than six decades, said while the announcement was good news for fishers, questions were still afloat over what compensation is available.

"I don't like the look of it now that the river is reopening," he said.

He said families who rely on fishing as their livelihood have lost up to $100,000 since the waterways closed in September last year for testing and analysis.

Mr Hyde will return to trawling in the waterways in November and said the recent inundation of fresh water made for a promising stock of prawns.