NSW Marine Parks

[King Nothing]

Hi All

Firstly I just want to say I’m surprised that this hasn’t already been brought up on the forum. A search didn’t bring anything up. I’d imagine that there would be a number of people here who enjoy fishing, and I feel it is important to discuss this. Particularly for the NSW people, but it will spread around the country.

Last month the National Parks Association (NPA, an extreme conservation group with no political authority) released a proposal to the Marine Parks Association (MPA) for the creation of a number of marine parks along the NSW coast and inside a number of bays and estuaries including Sydney Harbour and Botany Bay. The most significant of which was the Hawkesbury Bioregion park, stretching from Newcastle to Shellharbour, south of Wollongong extending 3 nautical miles seaward. This marine park would contain a number of no fish zones. The proposed no-fish zones lock out a number of the best fishing spots along the coast. The ultimate goal of the NPA is a minimum 20% no-fish zone along the NSW coast.

Now before I go any further I just want to state that I, along with most anglers I’ve spoken to, are not opposed to the idea of a properly managed and set-out marine protection zone, provided it is based on solid science and engages all stakeholders. We have no interest in fishing the oceans and estuaries dead. My family personally has followed a catch and release program for many years, tagging fish to allow tracking and helping further research into the migratory patterns of many pelagic species such as black and striped marlin, and mahi mahi. It is also worthwhile mentioning that Australia already has 30% of the worlds marine parks.

There are a number of issues with the current proposal. Firstly it unfairly demonises fishing (both commercial and recreational), and does not take into account a number of very real threats to marine environments. These threats include pollution from industry, agricultural run-off, unsuitable coastal developments, climate change, and other local influences. These parks act only to lock out anglers, and only relocate the fishing activity. They do not address a number of core issues and will not help to significantly recover stocks. It also refuses to acknowledge that sustainable fishing practices can be maintained whilst still maintaining the marine environment. In fact the USA has just recently allowed recreational fishing in all marine parks, yet we are moving the other way.

The other issue with the proposal is the “science” behind it. Much of the data used to demonstrate the effectiveness of marine parks is from overseas, and is either not relevant to NSW or has been so badly scaled it has grossly overestimated the benefits. The examples used are from scientifically studied areas that have been proven to be overfished in other countries, yet they are applied here. In fact, there is not one fish species which has been driven to extinction due to overfishing.

The best study completed in NSW was by a guy called Underwood, who studied the effect of trawling on the Clarence River. The Clarence river, an estuary location, is fairly representative of 40% of the fished waters in NSW. Trawling has also been shown to be the most damaging type of fishing.

His results found that, in the current controlled conditions, trawling did not have a significant impact on the marine environment and the removal of trawling would not have a significant benefit. The reason for this was that the natural environment already placed significant stress due to the variations it encountered, such that trawling was almost insignificant. The fact that the proposal does not take into account this proper science is indicative of a biased and non-scientific method.

The MPA, responsible for the creation and management of these parks, has also been accused of scientific fraud. In its “scientific” paper, in which it talked of the benefits of marine parks (yet did not discuss the cost or social implications), it talked of the benefits of marine parks off of ocean beaches. In his paper, Emeritus Professor Bob Kearny stated that the MPA had misinterpreted the data and that there was no benefit to ocean beach marine parks. In an amendment, the MPA simply removed any reference to the papers without further discussion. Very fishy indeed.

There are a number of other options to “lock-out” zones. These include the creation of artificial reefs and fish aggregation devices (FADs), seasonal lockouts during spawning times, rotating lockouts of areas to allow for recovery, replenishment of stocks using farmed fish, there are a number of other methods.

So the proposal unfairly targets fishing and is scientifically unsound. But what does this mean for you, the angler?

It means that in the very near future, your favourite fishing spots could be locked out. So you would be stuck with all manner of fishing gear, possibly even a boat if you own one, that no-one in NSW will want to buy. I imagine a large majority of tackle stores will close, along with petrol and some diesel marine mechanics. Fishing at Port Stephens and Bermagui/Narooma alone contribute $110.8 million to the NSW economy. It won’t be worthwhile taking your kids fishing as the best spots are locked out. This WILL affect how you fish, and soon.

For an example, have a look at the Port Stephens zoning already in place here

http://www.mpa.nsw.gov.au/psglmp.html

For those familiar with the area, its pretty clear that all of the best spots have been removed. In between Port Stephens and Broughton Island to the north is a maze of fish traps where it is impossible to fish without getting wrapped around something. Broughton Island itself is unfishable on the seaward side. Off of the Northern Head (Yacaaba) and around Cabbage tree island is impossible to fish and that was one of the best drift spots. And just look at all of those popular spots which are now off limits to fishing. Now imagine what Sydney Harbour or Botany Bay will look like. And all of this does not address many of the large issues as I stated above.

What can you do? Make some noise. It’s pretty clear that NSW Labor has bought the Green’s preferences using these marine parks to hold onto their already shaky grip on power. Write to your local members. Write to Premier Rees. Write to the NSW Fisheries department. Write to the opposition. Join a fishing club. A couple of larger groups I know are the Anglers Action Group, and the Recreational Fishing Alliance of NSW. Tell everyone who enjoys a fish. There are over 450,000 licensed anglers in NSW, we are a large group but we are fairly disorganised and therefore very quiet. The NPA is only around 5,000 or so, but they are a well oiled and so a very loud machine.

But we have already made it pretty clear in a couple of polls run by the Manly Daily and the St. George Leader in which there was a loud and resounding NO to the proposal (80% and 95%). Andrew Stoner, leader of the National Party, has called on the proposal to be rejected outright. The tide is starting to turn.

I Fish, I Vote.

[Rob's 76 Effy]

Umm interesting stuff, i was a long time angler until the introduction of fishing licences, a lot was rock (Wottamulla-national park, the groynes at Kurnell) and beach fishing (Narrabeen-Dee Why-Palm Beach) and for a number of years fishing the Hawksbury and a bit of outside fishing in a few boats i had, but i do think the roster system of lock out zones could be a good idea, my personal opinion only though, BTW parts of B Bay are no fish zones already that would be prime bream and flathead territory

[Burnout]

Serious stuff indeed - My I suggest you take a look at the campaign by NSW Upper House Member John Tingle.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooters_Party

I fear your fight will be similar to the one these organisations had to wage.

[King Nothing]

For those interested, here is a petition that you can sign

http://www.petitiononline.com/nmmp1234/petition.html

[MotherNatureVer2]

Thanks heaps for the info King Nothing. We are about to head that way for holidays with the kids. They wont be happy they cant beach fish ...... at least the water near the holiday house is still legal ......... lets hope theres some fish there.

[King Nothing]

Originally Posted by MotherNature

Thanks heaps for the info King Nothing. We are about to head that way for holidays with the kids. They wont be happy they cant beach fish ...... at least the water near the holiday house is still legal ......... lets hope theres some fish there.

No worries. Imagine if the whole coast was like this? It would be very difficult to figure out where you can fish, what you can take, etc. I printed that map out on A4 in colour, and it's impossible to see the GPS co-ordinates or the huge number of special conditions. How is that practical? How am I supposed to know where I can fish?

If you are caught fishing in a protected area, it's a $550 fine per angler! So for a family of four who has unknowingly fished at the wrong spot, that's $2,200 for a days fishing. Or if you have drifted into a protected area if fishing from a boat. Yet these same waterways will continue to be polluted with rubbish, urban and agricultural runoff.