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.
