Marine Parks
COMMUNITIES | MARINE PARKS
Balancing environment with sustainable fishing
Marine parks are an important part of any healthy and sustainable marine environment.
By working with the government’s marine scientists, it is possible to balance the fishing in and around marine parks, to an extent that fishing doesn’t impact the health or sustainability of the park’s marine life.
Western Australia has been very successful with its fisheries management and its fisheries are rated by government at 97 per cent sustainable and not-at-risk. This is about as close to 100 percent as is possible, due to climate change, cyclones, marine heatwaves and other natural events. This is the highest known level in the world, so it’s an achievement that should be openly celebrated.
Commercial fishers are fully committed to sustainable fisheries, because they need to ensure there are fish today, and every other day into the future. Managed properly like in WA, it is a fully renewable industry – and in addition, the carbon footprint of seafood is just a fraction of any agricultural protein source.
Recreational fishes are also committed to sustainable fishing. If overfishing occurs and stocks drop below agreed safe levels, then the government’s fisheries managers will immediately limit access to fish stocks to allow recovery.
WA has a great track record of supporting long term sustainability.
Sanctuary zones
While some overseas eco-lobby groups are calling on government to allocate up to 30 per cent of WA marine parks to ‘sanctuary zones,’ there is no science to support sanctuaries of this size.
Access rules within sanctuary zones are strict and can even restrict people from allowing their dog to chase a tennis ball into the water. We certainly don’t want to see the unique WA way of life lost, where people can 4WD onto beaches, fish and camp. There’s nothing more heartening than to see a proud Dad fishing with his kids, trying to catch their first herring. This is where life’s memories are made.
We see the value in small sanctuary zones to protect scientifically proven biodiversity hotspots but not for oversized areas without scientific justification.
The benchmark for sanctuary zones in the United States is less than three per cent of a marine park, so hopefully the WA Government departments do their homework.
