Marine sanctuaries draw in tourists

A leading Western Australian researcher says the introduction of marine sanctuaries off the south west WA coast would generate millions of dollars in tourism revenue.
Read more here.

Fisheries prof claims rejected

This article shows advice provided by the Scientific Working Group to the Minister for Environment and Conservation, rebutting Prof Robert Kearney's appraisal of the DENR fact sheet titled, 'Science shows marine park benefits'.

Costa Rica creates 2.47 million acre marine park

Last week, Costa Rica's President Miranda signed a decree declaring the marine park, called 'Seamounts Marine Management Area', which is larger than Yellowstone NAtional Park, near the Cocos Islands,

The wonderful and heart lifting part of this new declaration is that Costa Rica declared a national day of pride in honour of the announcement.

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Conservation Council supports marine parks

The peak environmental body for South Australia is promoting the key messages found in this article.

Scientists talk fish - will there be any left by 2050?

World famous oceanographer and marine biologist, Sylvia Earle, talks fish with the BBC.
Click here to see a short clip of her talking about why our oceans are in peril - our 'luxury tastes'.

The ABC Science Show's Robyn Williams talks global fish stocks with three fisheries scientists.
The oceans will be populated by small fish. Large predatory fish will be gone. Over the last 100 years large predatory fish have declined by 2/3. More than half the decline has occurred in the last 40 years. Higher temperatures will lead to lower production and less fish. The demand for fish is increasing but the supply is not. Fishing effort has increased each year since the 1950s, but recently the catch has not increased. Have we reached 'peak fish'?

Will marine parks increase the value of real estate!!!!

Sadly the national press is gobbling up all the specious arguments of the anti- marine parks lobby who have variously claimed, without any evidence to support them, that fish prices will go up and house prices will go down if we bring in marine parks.

Meanwhile in the real world, active conservation programs continue to provide dividends to communities through improved resource protection.  It is not apparent, at least to this observer, how a small area (probably 10-15% of State waters) under active protection will reduce the value of houses?  Most people will continue to fish where they want to and in most cases, due to spillover benefits, they will catch more fish for less effort.

Just go elsewhere in Australia and watch the recreational fishers line up on the boundaries of marine parks - why are they there?  Because that is where they catch most fish - right next to the area that has been protected.  On this basis marine parks will attract fishers to regional communities and will improve the value of real estate.

Recreational fishing group supports Marine Parks

Recreational fishing group Fishers For Conservation recently posted this article:

In my life I have watched the numbers of fish my family love to catch and eat dwindle and have observed the habitats and ecosystems I grew up with change significantly, and not for the better. I have no doubt that we need to take action, now. But what should we do? Lately Marine Parks have been grabbing the headlines as some people tout them as the solution to all our problems, and others are up in arms with a ‘not in my backyard’ mentality.
There is not one simple answer, but perhaps there is one simple approach that can bring about the positive change we need. The biggest problems Australian inshore oceans face are pollution, destructive fishing practices, and a fundamental error in the way we manage our fisheries…

To read the full article, go here.