IN the May edition of the respected US magazine Sport Fishing, Editor-in-Chief Doug Olander takes Pew to task over its ongoing efforts to close Australia’s Coral Sea to all fishing.
Olander, a strong advocate for anglers’ rights in the US, has railed against the agendas of richly funded organisations such as Pew. Via a long and friendly association with Fisho, he’s been keeping a close eye on Pew’s anti-fishing campaign in our waters. Not surprisingly, he’s of the opinion that what happens Down Under could well have ramifications in his backyard in the northern hemisphere…
In his current editorial, Olander writes: “I feel it’s important that enthusiasts of this sport recognize the peril that some environmental nongovernmental organizations like Pew might pose. That seems even more likely if Pew’s preposterous campaign to close the Coral Sea should come to pass. Buoyed on that success, Pew is likely to go looking for new target areas — and if the Coral Sea, why not the Gulf of Mexico?”
“One reason why not: The Gulf of Mexico has as much need for a closure as the Coral Sea has — and that’s absolutely no need at all.”
Read Doug Olander’s editorial in full HERE.
The concerns of Olander and his colleagues in the US come at an interesting stage in the Australian Government’s plans for marine parks. Fisho understands that intensive meetings were staged in the past week between Environment Minister Tony Burke and angling representatives. We’ve heard from various sources who attended these meetings, which took place around the country, that the Government is focusing its lock-out attentions on the Coral Sea and the south-west of WA. Interestingly, these are the two areas highlighted by a couple of years back by Pew’s Imogen Zethoven as being of prime “conservation” interest. See HERE for the original article by Fisho’s Jim Harnwell.
We understand that it’s likely that the final plans for the federal parks will be announced within the next month, probably by the end of June at the latest. As the deadline draws near, the enviros are lobbying hard – yesterday they organised a self-proclaimed reformed “redneck” fisherman, the acclaimed novelist Tim Winton, to inform parliamentarians in Canberra that after a lifetime spent as a keen angler he’s now learnt the errors of his ways. Instead of preaching the positive benefits of angling, Winton now spouts the anti-fishing line propagated by Pew and is actively urging the Government to create a system of marine parks around the country. Take a listen to Winton’s comments here: http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2012/s3499267.htm
In a recent article in the Good Weekend magazine, the WA-based writer of award-winning novels such as Cloudstreet and Dirt Music, which is set at a fishing camp in the Kimberley, said that Australian anglers were widely supportive of marine parks. With all due respect, we think Tim is using a fair slab of poetic licence in regards to that claim …
While there’s no doubt that Winton has done some great and necessary environmental work – he campaigned hard, for instance, to stop inappropriate developments at Ningaloo Reef – it’s hard to see why he supports and even advocates indiscriminate bans on recreational fishing, an activity he says is part of his life.
It would be different if Pew and other anti-fishing groups had worked with anglers in regards to coming up with balanced and reasonable plans for marine protection. But they haven’t. Throughout this entire process Pew has campaigned for total fishing bans – no compromise, no negotiations, no discussion.
How do you expect us to deal with this sort of totalitarian viewpoint, Tim? If we oppose the anti-fishing agenda your new buddies are pushing, you’ve basically said we’re all “rednecks”. If we do give an inch, the Pew juggernaut takes a mile in return. We’re caught in some terrible Dostoyevskian quandary here, Tim! Help us out, mate!
All this follows the publication in our Monday e-newsletter of an opinion piece by Australian Fishing Trade Association CEO Allan Hansard, who’s been spearheading the campaign against indiscriminate lockouts. Hansard, an experienced campaigner and lobbyist without whom we’d no doubt be completely screwed, highlighted in his piece the fact that there is currently no science supporting any bans on recreational fishing and also warned that any large scale closures introduced by the Government set a “precedent” that will no doubt be used by green extremists in future no-fishing campaigns.
The take-home message here is that we’re at the pointy end of things now, fellas. What Minister Burke decides over the next few weeks is set to dictate what we as anglers can and can’t do, both now and well into the future. Let’s hope Burke isn’t a fan of Tim Winton novels!
Stay tuned for more.
