THE acting Chief Executive of WA’s peak rec fishing body Recfishwest, Dr Andrew Rowland, has labelled an opinion piece on marine parks written by Clean Up Australia campaigner Ian Kiernan as misleading.
According to a response by Dr Rowland published on abc.net.au, the article Fishy tactics block benefits for WA by Kiernan, “appears to be fuelled by untruths and misinformation fed to its author by anti-fishing green groups”.
Dr Rowland goes on to say “Recfishwest’s policies are being considered at state and national levels because they are drafted following extensive community consultation, are based on sound science and are free from emotive, political and monetary influences.
“It is understandable the peak recreational fishing group has become the target of a slanderous campaign given the strong influence Recfishwest exerts on decision makers. While we are working hard to ensure the appropriate management strategies are employed to protect our marine environment, these groups are resorting to the time-honoured attack of shooting the messenger when they have no credible evidence-based arguments.
“These are testing times for anti-fishing groups because the Australian public are tired of being force fed years of campaign rubbish masquerading as science, ” said Dr Rowland. Read his comment piece in full HERE.
