Commercial net fishing to go from Melb

Commercial net fishing will be all but gone from Port Phillip Bay by April as most fishers opt to take the Victorian government's compensation package.

Out of the 43 commercial fishers operating in the bay, 33 will exit by April 1, two will stay on for a while longer and eight will transition to line fishing.

Net fishing in the bay will be completely banned from Corio Bay from mid-2018 and across the bay by 2022 after a bill passed Victorian parliament in November.

Victorian Agriculture Minister Jaala Pulford, who made the announcement at the Albert Park Angling Club on Saturday, said the number opting out have "absolutely exceeded our [government's] expectations".

She said the 33 commercial fishers represented 73 per cent of the total catch, leaving recreational fishers with very little.

The outgoing licence-holders will receive $24.5 million out of the total compensation package of $27 million in the next few weeks.

But Seafood Industry Victoria executive director Jonathan Davies is scathing of the plan he says has made it hard for businesses to continue working for more than a year.

"It's hard for someone to stay in a job and take a 10 per cent hit if they're going to stay for seven years," he told AAP.

He said the compensation package was structured to promote an early exit, with each year a company opted to stay until 2022 penalised by a 10 per cent reduction in the overall compensation packet.

About $310,000 has been promised as compensation for each commercial licence, with an additional $75,000 provided for equipment.

"Most people can't afford to stay in: the price of fuel, bait and gear keeps going up," he said.

"All these people want is just to be fishermen."

Victorian Greens leader Greg Barber, whose party voted against the net fishing ban, says the latest science shows fish stocks remaining healthy and that Labor has not established a case for a commercial net fishing ban.

"Consumers who want to buy fresh locally caught and sustainable seafood will be the losers," he told AAP.

However, the Andrews government says the ban will mean bigger fish and more recreational fishers.

Recreational fisherman Rex Hunt says it is "delightful" for a government to recognise the "social and economic values of recreational fishing".

"It's not about putting people out of work. We believe that the nets were not sustainable for the resources out there," he said.