According to the press information commercial trawlers are asking the Federal Government to adjust the no-take zone outlined in the proposed Coral Sea Commonwealth Marine Reserve. Queensland Seafood Industry Association president Geoff Tilton said that the government’s plan to exclude commercial fishing from this project would jeopardize the business of more than 40 prawn trawlers.
He added that this project would take away most productive fishing ground and squeezes the trawlers into a smaller area so therefore more competition, less income. The fishery in the area is very developed and is said to be build over last 25 years by the trawlers. He also said that people have actually built their business plan around working in this area that is going to be shut.
Tilton informed that this project would have a negative impact on the fishing industry, which includes up to $50 million in lost production each year, could be avoided if the Government adjusted the exclusion zone by 1000sq km. He also told that trawl is allowable just inside the boundary of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and it’s an ecologically sustainable fishery so how is it that it’s not allowed in the new Coral Sea conservation park?
Waters said that they support the Federal Government coughing up a fair and appropriate amount of money to buy out those people and take up this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to protect the Coral Sea as the world’s largest marine national park. She is also said that fisheries could be sustainably managed if marine areas were planned properly.
