Federal Marine Parks Loom
FEDERAL Environment Minister Tony Burke today announced a scheme to assist commercial fishing operations deal with a new system of Commonwealth marine parks but has made no mention of similar help for Australia’s 3 million anglers.
Mr Burke released the Government’s policy of supporting commercial fishing operators and communities if they are affected by the establishment of soon-to-be-announced Commonwealth marine reserves.
The fisheries adjustment policy outlines the principles that the Government will apply in determining the forms of assistance available to industry and fishing-reliant communities following the establishment of a final network of Commonwealth marine reserves.
The Government has committed to the development of marine bioregional plans and new marine reserves in four identified regions across Australia to protect the nation’s unique marine environment for future generations.
Mr Burke said the Government would work closely with the commercial fishing industry to identify fair and reasonable assistance.
It would ensure individual businesses were supported where adjustment was needed and to ensure fish stocks outside reserves were maintained at sustainable levels to support the industry.
Mr Burke made no mention of the recreational sector in his policy statement. More than 3 million Australians enjoy fishing and the rec sector is worth billions to the national economy.
Fisho has contacted Minister Burke’s office to gain clarification on his policy statements and to ascertain his standpoint on recreational fishing issues.
Without having the opportunity to talk with Mr Burke, it is difficult to say if his media statement today was a deliberate snub or an oversight. Or perhaps there was no need for him to make any mention of recreational fishing issues, although you’d think the Minister would at least acknowledge the fact that millions of Aussies like fishing and would thus be interested in his plans for vast swathes of our marine resources.
Interviews Fisho conducted with former environment minister Peter Garrett and more recently with Dr Mike Kelly, the parliamentary secretary for fisheries, indicated that the federal Government’s new marine protected areas would have little impact on recreational fishing activities.
If that is indeed the case then Minister Burke’s statement today focused solely on assistance strategies for the commercial fishing sector, and did not include the angling sector, simply because the Government is not planning to exclude recreational fishing from any of its new marine protected areas.
We can only hope this is the case. It would be the best possible outcome. But if we’ve learnt anything from the whole marine parks saga of the past decade or so it’s that no-go zones are the norm rather than the exception. So don’t hold your breath on the feds being nice guys and letting us in while they ban the pros.
The other option is that Minister Burke is planning a separate announcement detailing his assistance package for the recreational fishing industry. If this is the case, then we look forward to the Minister’s ideas, hoping all the while that the no-go zones will be minimised.
The third, and least appealing option, is that Minister Burke and his advisors just left out recreational fishing when they worked out this assistance plan. They either completely forgot about us or, possibly more likely, didn’t even consider the economic and social worth of the rec industry.
We would hope this is not the case. It would be extremely disappointing to realise that the 3 million Australians who enjoy recreational fishing just didn’t even rate when the Minister was planning all this. Surely, though, the shellacking the Government got at the last election, especially in marginal coastal seats, cemented home the message that anglers just can’t be treated like mushrooms?
The Government is expected to soon release a draft bioregional plan and marine reserve network for Australia’s south-west, followed by plans for the north and east.
See full details of Minister’s Burke’s assistance plan for the commercial sector HERE and a response from Nationals Senator Ron Boswell, including estimations on how much it will all cost, HERE.
Stay tuned for further reports as soon as Minister Burke’s office returns our calls.
