22 November, 2013
Report showcases unique NSW marine life threatened by looming government decision
A new report released today documents the unique and endangered marine life that is at risk from a NSW Government decision to wind back important protections along the state’s coast.
The report, Beyond the Beach: Exploring NSW’s underwater treasures, highlights the benefits of marine sanctuaries, which allow fish and other marine life to recover and rebuild their stocks free from the pressures of sustained fishing. The report combines stunning photographs, compelling stories, and facts and figures showcasing the state’s marine natural heritage.
The report also focuses on the importance of marine parks and sanctuaries to tourism. Diving and whale watching tourism, which are worth hundreds of millions of dollars to the NSW economy, depend on a healthy marine environment full of fish and other marine life to continue to thrive.
The NSW Government has taken the unprecedented step of allowing line fishing in critical marine sanctuaries [1], which cover less than 7 per cent of NSW waters. The government is expected to decide soon whether the amnesty on fishing in sanctuary areas will become permanent.
"Sanctuaries are a proven way of helping fish populations rebuild, and provide a vital haven for diverse marine life along the NSW coast,” Nature Conservation Council of NSW Chief Executive Officer Pepe Clarke said.
“Allowing fishing in marine sanctuaries is not in the long-term interests of anglers or the wider community, which wants our unique marine life protected. It appears that NSW is weakening marine protections at a time when the rest of Australia is increasing them. We urge the state government to demonstrate its commitment to marine conservation by reinstating the modest protections that existed previously.”
Clean up Australia Chairman and founder, former Australian of the Year Ian Kiernan, AO, has written the foreword to Beyond the Beach. “It takes time for the benefits of marine parks and sanctuaries to kick in, but when they do it’s a bonanza for regional economies and a foundation for sustainable fishing,”Mr Kiernan says.
The Wilderness Society Sydney Campaign Manager Belinda Fairbrother said: “NSW is home to six incredible marine parks, from Cape Byron in the north, to Batemans Bay in the south, and Lord Howe Island far out east. These marine parks protect precious creatures like green turtles, dolphins, colourful reef fish, weedy seadragons and many species threatened with extinction.”
NSW Government’s most recent poll found 85 percent of NSW residents supported protecting some areas of the marine environment, even if it means recreational and commercial fishing is excluded. In Sydney support increased to 89 percent. [2]
[1] http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0018/460620/20130312-MARINE-PARKS-MEDIA-RELEASE-final.pdf
[2] www.environment.nsw.gov.au/community/whocares2009.htm
THE REPORT
www.saveourmarinelife.org.au/beyond
Tags
Let others know about this issue