Marine scientists have urged the major political parties to keep rolling out marine conservation areas in the bellwether seat of Eden-Monaro where fishing votes could be crucial. In a letter the scientists have written that a wealth of data shows conservation zones increase stocks of marine life and boost biodiversity, and recent suggestions to the contrary are ”false”.
The director of the University of Queensland’s Ecology Centre, Professor Hugh Possingham, who co-organised the letter, said long-established scientific evidence showed marine parks can help commercial and recreational fishing by securing fish populations in the long term. Howard government’s environment minister, Robert Hill has started and championed the marine protection zones process.
Under the UN Convention of Biological Diversity, Australia has committed to protecting 10 per cent of its seas and oceans by 2012. The Opposition Leader arrived in Narooma in the federal seat of Eden-Monaro yesterday afternoon, to the chants of angry conservationists concerned the resumption of fishing will deplete fish stocks and repel tourists, who are drawn to the town’s natural beauty.
The chairman of the fishing co-operative in nearby Bermagui, Rocky Lagana, said local businesses suffered when fishing bans come into place. According to him the fuel sales go down, the bait, the tackle. He told that there is huge reduction of commercial fishers in their area and they don’t want to see any more fishers go. The Nature Conservation Council of NSW said that about 80 percent of NSW marine parks are still open to recreational fishing. There are rare and threatened species in the protected zone.
