Norman Moore, fisheries minister of WA, has invited the people of WA to express themselves on the Commonwealth government’s draft plan to create a network of marine reserves stretching from Shark Bay all the way south to Kangaroo Island in South Australia. He added that draft Marine Bioregional Plan, released earlier this month, intended to guide the federal government on key issues of environmental significance in the south-west bioregion, for consideration within the context of the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
He said that the government is intended to compensate the displaced commercial fishers through a ‘Fisheries Adjustment Policy’, which was released on May 3. The WA Fishing Industry Council (WAFIC) has expressed concern about the plan which will see more area of the sea protected than is currently protected on land under national parks legislation.
WAFIC principal executive officer Guy Leyland said while oil and gas activity and recreational fishing appeared to be relatively unscathed in terms of impacts, some commercial fishing businesses, families and communities would be significantly affected. The group has also asked the government to make clear exactly how affected fisheries were going to be compensated for the impact to their livelihoods.
With all the changes that are constantly being made to the crayfishing industry this plan simply adds to the lack of clear understanding about the future of the fishery. According to Moss 90-day comment period ends on August 8 and anyone with an interest in these waters should take advantage of this opportunity to have their say.
