Attacks on marine parks blunted by commitment to science

The NSW marine park audit chief (Prof Robert Beeton AM) has vowed to put science before politics in a move which is expected to blunt the anti-conservation fervor being promulgated by some in the industry. Aided and abetted by outdated science from the fishery sector NSW (like SA) has been plagued by a campaign of mis-information around Marine Parks which aims to force government to pull back from a comprehensive commitment to marine conservation in favor of fishing.

Read more on this here.

"Sustainable fisheries" - what does this really mean?

A common argument from the fishing industry is that we do not need marine parks because South Australian fisheries are already managed sustainably. This argument is invalid for one simple reason: Sustainable fishery management is about ensuring fishery productivity. This does not mean that the fishing practices don’t cause environmental harm or that the fishing practice is sustainable for other species in the ecosystem.

The simplest definition of a sustainably managed fishery is one that maintains fish stocks. In other words, a fishery in which the recruitment of new fish balances the removal of fish through catching or natural mortality. So, while fishery stocks may be managed so that we can maintain, or even enhance, the fishable biomass of the target species, this does not mean that other species in the ecosystem are similarly sustained or protected.

Many fisheries have significant detrimental impacts, including habitat destruction and / or the by-catch of non-target species.

Two examples that illustrate the potential for so called “sustainable” fisheries to have a significant impact are:

• the destruction of benthic habitats, e.g. associated with bottom trawl fisheries such as prawn fishing
• impacts on endangered species (including deaths of endangered Australian sea lions) from activities such as gillnet fishing.

Studies on Australian prawn fisheries have shown that by-catch can be as high as 10 tonnes of by-catch per tonne of prawns caught. In many cases this by-catch comprises rare, threatened or endangered species. In South Australia these include pipe fish and sea horses, sea squirts, sponges, giant cuttlefish and a number of commercially important species including under-size whiting and berried blue crabs.

Similarly gill-net fishing in South Australia has been identified as a key threat to the survival of Australian sea lions, listed as vulnerable under the EPBC Act. More than 80% of Australian sea lions – Australia’s only endemic seal - live in South Australian waters. Recent work by SARDI Aquatic Sciences has demonstrated that by-catch of Australian sea lions in the shark gillnet fishery represents a key threat to their survival.

In summary – the term "sustainable fishing" in South Australia only means that the productivity of fish stocks are managed. IT DOES NOT MEAN that fishing is free of impacts on the environment or that ecosystem integrity is maintained. In fact, fishing remains one of the most significant threats to marine biodiversity and the survival of many key species that contribute to the richness and diversity of coastal waters.

This is why we need sanctuary zones – to ensure that there are some "no-take" areas that remain free of the destructive impacts of fishing.

Less than 1% of our oceans are protected

Great article by Moses Amweelo who says (amongst other things)...

"Our oceans give us life - they provide us with oxygen and food, and they contain over 80% of all life on Earth. In exchange, we plunder them of fish, choke them with pollution and heat them up through climate change.

Despite the critical role that oceans play in our lives, they are still the least protected areas of our planet. Currently, less than 1% of our seas and oceans are protected. "

Link to this article here

The price of fish?

According to the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics, the gross value of production of Fisheries in Australia for 2008 was worth $2.19 billion. However, since 1998-99 the total volume of fisheries production has increased by 1% but the return on that produce has fallen by some 22%. This decline can be attributed to a reduction in the value of key species in international markets primarily in response to the increasingly strong Australian dollar.

 

"Historically, Australia has been a net importer of fisheries products in volume terms but a net exporter in value terms. This disparity reflects the composition of Australian fisheries exports compared to imports. Australian fisheries exports are dominated by high value species such as rock lobster, tuna and abalone, while imports largely consist of lower value products such as frozen fish fillets, canned fish and frozen prawns." (ABARE 2008)

Most of the seafood consumed in Australia is actually imported whereas most of what we catch goes to export.  The price of seafood in Australia is thus largely determined by the complex interplay of international markets and currency fluctuations rather that local measures to manage and protect the ecological integrity of coastal waters.

Protecting natural assets - protecting tourism

The Tourism and Transport Forum, a peak tourism organisation points out:

"In 2006 domestic and international nature-based tourists spent approximately $23 billion during their travels in Australia."

"... the task of securing Australia’s globally important biodiversity has never been more urgent .."  

(Tourism and Transport Forum Australia Natural Tourism Partnerships Action Plan (2007) available at http://www.ttf.org.au/Content/ntpi07.aspx




Tourism needs healthy ecosystems and thriving wildlife; marine parks will deliver a healthy and sustainable marine environment