Batemans Marine PArk Email Group #49. More interesting news.

[pink nipper]

Narooma Port Committee

Chairman Dr. Philip Creagh BVSc.

Secretary Mr. John Moore

PO Box 596

Narooma, NSW, 2546

EMAIL GROUP MAILOUT # 49 Friday 5th December 2008



Greetings All



Sorry for so many mailouts coming, however it is interesting times.

1. Media Release related to NPA announcement on new Marine Parks.

2. Listing of fishing websites

3. Transcript of ABC “The World today” program .. Sydney Valerie Taylor (former spearfisher), Cox (NPA), Hammond (NPA), Cohen (NSW Greens), Turk (Fish Markets), Kearney ( sanity)



As I stated in mailout #48, The NPA was interviewed at length on the ABC South East this am. and Professor Kearney was given an excellent one on one interview with Sophie Longden.



I have received word that on Monday the 8th, at 8.35am., ABC South East, Sophie will be interviewing Brendan Kelaher about this issue. Could I suggest as many as possible ring between 8:45 and 9:15 to get on “talkback”. The number is 1300 810 222. The producer is Jen Hunt.



1.

Following this morning’s ABC report I have prepared the following media release and forwarded to Narooma News, Eden Magnet and Town and Country



National Parks Association declare an economic jihad on the South Coast



Philip Creagh, Chairman of the Narooma Port Committee claimed "the Sydney based National Parks Association have developed a proposal for Marine Parks in NSW that, if implemented, will be a declaration of a Socio-Economic warfare on the Eurobodalla and Merimbula-Eden area of the far South Coast."



The National Parks Association stand condemned for their actions, promoting an agenda that will see the cessation of recreational family fishermen who come to the South Coast from Queanbeyan, Southern Sydney as well as Victoria . Their ultimate goal is to wipe out all forms of fishing, with no regard for the economic or social consequences that their actions will have.



Not only do they want a “lock it up and lock ‘em out” Marine Park for the Eden area, they also want to close off Montague Island to fishing for a distance of 1500metres around the Island . They also want to increase the “No Take” areas in Batemans Marine Park from 19% to 33% of the Park area.



They maintain their goal is to "prevent the collapse of fish stocks" in NSW, whereas, in fact, they have an ideological and hypothetically driven anti-fishing agenda, with a level of economic naivety that will do huge harm to the South Coast of NSW. Their actions are unAustralian.



Dr. Creagh continued "they misquote, or selectively quote, every article that they purport supports their case. In doing so they hoodwink the public into believing their goals are for everyone’s benefit”



"Claims by the NPA that there are proven benefits in “no take” sanctuary zones within present Marine Parks in NSW are unfounded. The Marine Parks Authority have tried for 15 years to demonstrate benefits in the “No Take” zones within any of the six NSW Marine Parks. Despite this effort and taxpayer funds they have only demonstrated a small effect on Red Morwong in the Solitary Islands Marine Park .



The National Parks Association, in a paper "Empty Nets, Empty Oceans", claimed there was a decline in NSW fish stocks. This report has been scathingly criticized in a comprehensive review by the University of British Columbia , which stated, in its conclusion, "the report lacks consistency and demonstrates a basic lack of understanding of fisheries science and the management of Australian fisheries".



So what notice should we take of their current report on how to correct the imaginary decline in fish stocks caused by overfishing.



Despite this level of misinformation, the NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change, under Minister Tebbutt, still funds these groups with many hundreds of thousands of dollars per year, what a disgraceful waste of NSW taxpayer's money.



Dr. Creagh concluded "Professor Kearney has demonstrated perfectly well the real threats to the Marine environment and fish stocks come from the land in ALL of New South Wales . Until this issue is addressed it is a total waste of taxpayer’s money pouring money into nonsensical “No take” sanctuary zones.

ENDS





2. The various fishing websites are running hot about this proposal, especially about the proposed Sydeny Marine Park .



Sportsfish:

http://www.sportsfish.com.au/forum/foru ... ORUM_ID=26



Ecofishers:

http://www.ecofishers.com/fishing-board ... &board=2.0



Coastal Rights:

http://www.coastalrights.org/forum/



Ausfish:

http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/forumdisplay.php?f=85



Fishraider:

http://fishraider.com.au/Invision/index ... howforum=4



Fishnet:

http://www.fishnet.com.au/forums/viewforum.php?f=1



Anglers Action group

http://sites.google.com/site/aagfish/





Today on ABC Sydney was this discussion:



3.

The World Today - Thursday, 4 December , 2008 12:34:00
Reporter: Lisa Millar
ELEANOR HALL: The National Parks Association is launching a controversial bid today for a marine park to be declared around Australia 's biggest city.

The association wants to protect an area of water along Sydney 's coastline from Gosford in the north to the Royal National Park in the south. The massive marine park would be the first in the world to be created around a major city.

And already the National Parks body is on the defensive about the plan, as Lisa Millar reports

LISA MILLAR: Valerie Taylor is one of Australia 's pioneering underwater explorers. Now in her 70s she started diving when she was a teenager and used to pride herself on snaring the big fish.

VALERIE TAYLOR: When I first entered the waters off the coast there were so many fish, I thought well what if I spear a hundred, it doesn't matter. There'll be another hundred more to take its place.

I became Australia 's top woman fish killer by speak gun.

LISA MILLAR: But after gazing across a beach layered with dead fish caught during a national competition she had a change of heart.

VALERIE TAYLOR: Once I could go out and speak three or four boarfish. I haven't seen a boarfish for 30 years.

LISA MILLAR: Valerie Taylor launched the report this morning for the National Parks Association of NSW, which is proposing a marine park that would be the first to cover such a huge city, including the Sydney harbour and the coastline from the central coast to the Royal National Park south of the city.

The Association's Nicky Hammond says there's plenty of evidence that fish stocks are being depleted.

NICKY HAMMOND: Well I think we just have to look back 10, 20 years' time and to what Valerie was saying earlier that there used to be tonnes more marine life around the place and we can't expect to have over 93 per cent of our waters open to fishing and to be able to be aware of the fact that our marine life is declining and our habitats are being degraded and not expect that trend to continue.

LISA MILLAR: The proposal doesn't pinpoint exactly where fishing would be banned but Nicky Hammond and her colleague Andrew Cox are already bracing themselves for the fallout.

ANDREW COX: Well we think there's going to be people who are going to act as spoilers. The politicians need to be brave. They haven't had the courage to take it to the community. I think the people around Sydney are smart enough to know what marine conservation is about and they'll get behind it

LISA MILLAR: He admits there's been a chequered history when it's come to people accepting marine parks. Most of the opposition has come from the fishing industry. He says there'd have to be a buy-out package - perhaps around $18-million.

NSW Greens politician Ian Cohen has found most fishers are happy in the end.

IAN COHEN: Quietly, a lot of the fishers who are complaining in the past have been telling me, hey it's pretty good here. I can still go along to specific zones and catch even better fish than before.

LISA MILLAR: But that doesn't win over Graeme Turk, the managing director of the Sydney Fish Market.

GRAEME TURK: I think it is a shame. I think the public is being hoodwinked into believing that fishing is the problem.

Most of them make it very difficult to continue fishing. They either exclude fishing altogether or it means that there are areas that you can fish in, but for example you might only be able to use a single hook. Well that's ok for recreational fishing, but it's not much good for commercial fishing.

LISA MILLAR: Professor Bob Kearney is a fisheries expert from the University of Canberra .

BOB KEARNEY : This current system of marine parks in New South Wales is really nothing more than fish enclosures.

Even the Government's documentation that they use to establish them states that. The minister actually stated everybody can continue to do what they've always done except fishing.

So they are fish enclosures and the real problem that I have is with estuaries and ocean beaches in particular - I have a problem with them everywhere unless they're well designed – in that the problems have not been identified, they're closed only to fishing, the known threats to our estuaries are not fishing, there's no evidence that fishing is a serious problem at all.

The real threats are pollution in many forms, introduced species are another huge problem from the aquarium industry and from ballast water – they're the real threats to our estuaries.

ELENAOR HALL: Professor Bob Kearney from the University of Canberra ending that report from Lisa Millar