Marine Parks Proclamation a Slap in the Face

[Gad]

Taken from todays Fishing World email newsletter 19-11-12

Burke sells out Aussie anglers

16 Nov 2012

FEDERAL Environment Minister Tony Burke has dismissed "lockout" concerns of anglers around Australia and formally proclaimed 44 marine reserves in a network that covers a third of the country's ocean territory.

"Environment Minister, Tony Burke, has caved into pressure from environmental lobbyists to create a flawed and uninspiring marine parks plan," a spokesman for Keep Australia Fishing, the peak advocacy group for rec anglers, said today.

"He had the chance to create marine protected areas that achieved key conservation goals yet recognised the unique socio-economic benefits of a sustainable recreational fishing sector.

"However, it is clear with the announcement today that Minister Burke has simply toed the line given to him by the environmental lobby.

"Minister Burke had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create an inspiring and visionary marine parks network. But he's followed the same old line of locking it all up and throwing away the key.

"This lock-up agenda is exactly what green and anti-fishing groups have demanded for the past several years. Today Minister Burke has delivered exactly what these groups have required from him. It is now crystal clear that the Minister and his Government have been hogtied on the marine parks issue by the Greens and other anti-fishing groups.

"There was no scientific rationale behind the Government's moves to lock anglers out of 1.3 million square kilometres of ocean. We've been asking for years why we need to be locked out. However, Minister Burke has never yet answered our questions. All we can do is keep asking, 'why are you doing this to us?'

KAF questioned the Minister's decision to reward the commercial fishing sector with $100 million in compensation. "Why is the commercial fishing industry getting millions in taxpayer-funded compensation yet nothing is being provided for the rec-fishing communities?

"Minister Burke's decisions today are a slap in the face for our nation's millions of recreational anglers. We're the only user group getting locked out for no reason and with no compensation. Anglers won't forget that our Federal Government has this day treated us with contempt.

KAF and other rec-fishing organisations will now lobby hard to ensure the management plans governing the commonwealth marine parks allowed for well-managed recreational fishing activities.

"Our Environment Minister should have rejected the extremist views espoused by anti-fishing groups and instead would have worked with anglers and other reasonable environmental groups to create an efficient and effective marine parks system.

"Since the Minister has failed to do this, we'll now push hard to ensure the management plans governing these new marine parks do not exclude anglers without good reason.

"KAF and other angling organisations are committed to ensuring fishing rights for future generations of Aussie anglers," the spokesman concluded.

Keep Australia Fishing (KAF) is the peak advocacy group representing 5 million anglers.

19 Nov 2012

By Tim Carter, marketing manager Halco Tackle

I NEVER thought I would get to the point that I had to write this. As a responsible recreational angler for over 40 years, I have stuck by government imposed size and bag limits, fisheries closures to allow for spawning aggregations and been involved in scientific fish tagging programmes to name but a few aspects of my fishing life.

I have always stuck by the rules but last Friday sealed the day that I became an anarchist in relation to fisheries management. On Friday, federal Environment Minister Tony Burke proclaimed a huge area of Australia's waters as a series of marine parks around the country.

While green groups will no doubt be dancing in the streets over the move, what about recreational anglers in all this? Commercial fishers will be precluded from fishing in these areas as well, but they will receive financial compensation for the exclusion – up $100 million worth, what's the story for recreational anglers? You got a giant kick up the arse, that's what!

Friday's proclamation caps personally, a three year long series of supposed negotiations with the minister and his department.

Unfortunately my report card scores the minister a complete and utter fail for this sham of a process. If there was real science behind the move, I could have lived with that, however, it is not and never has been about science. It's about political payback to the green lobby for the ability of federal Labor to govern this country. It's about the power that overseas funded green groups have over the minister and his department and the absolute treachery and goalpost changing tactics they used to get this through.

The spin and plain untruths of the green lobby has been breathtaking, but the most startling thing I think, has been the conduct of minister Burke. He has even insisted recreational anglers are unaffected by these MPA's. A total bare faced lie I say!

Areas of the Coral Sea, the Rottnest Trench and Geographe Bay are just three areas where recreational anglers are very much affected, and the minister knows it too. There are plenty of other examples out there but these ones in particular are the worst.

He doesn't have the courage to own up to these ones and recreational anglers, the little guys in this game, have found it impossible through the media scrum to get the message out.

Once the minister released a draft of this plan, leaders of the Australian fishing community, including myself, met again with the minister in Canberra to try and thrash out a plan to fix the major sticking points of concern to recreational fishermen.

In that meeting, minister Burke admitted to us that he had made a mistake over the Rottnest Trench decision and stated that he would get back to us once he had a chance to have a look at the situation. Shock and horror, he didn't and has locked us out of an area that we have fished since the late 1940s.

Guess what minister, today I have said "enough". No amount of green paint on a map is going to stop me or many others here in WA fishing this area. No science, no lock out I say.

Tell me who is going to police the area, located over 40 nautical miles off the coast? Are you going to run aircraft around a little square in the ocean to catch us out? At what cost to the taxpayer? Patrol boats might be another option open to you, but who then will stop all the illegal boats that are freely entering our waters on a daily basis? I forgot, your government tore down laws that effectively stopped the boats and has left us with almost no border protection – well done Labor. Your green mates are very pleased though.

Minister, today I say to you, stick your MPA's where they fit, you can't and won't be able to stop me in practice. I will see you out there some time!

[Gad]

"Tell us why Tony" asks ARFF

16 Nov 2012

THE Australian Recreational Fishing Foundation (ARFF), the national peak body representing Australia’s recreational fishing community has asked the Environment Minister, Tony Burke, why his Marine Park Plan is locking Aussie recreational fishers out of 1.3 million square kilometres of Australian seas without a reason.

Director Allan Hansard said today “Australia’s 5 million recreational fishers applaud good science based conservation measures that protects our marine environment for future generations. However, the Government’s Marine Park Plan lacks scientific reasoning and no explanation why Aussie recreational fishers are banned from Marine Parks.

“What does Mum, Dad and the kids fishing in a tinnie do to the environment that warrants them being locked out of vast areas of Australian waters, whether the Marine Parks are 5 or 500 kilometres from a boat ramp?

“The Government has not differentiated between a family fishing in a tinnie and an industrial scale super trawler. The Government is discriminating against recreational fishers by allowing divers, tourist operators, container ships and even defence force activities into Marine Parks but banning Aussie fishing families from catching a fish. This does not make sense and the Government has not provided any rational explanation.

“Though the Aussie recreational fishing community is the largest stakeholder affected by the ‘lock out’ Marine Park Plan we are the biggest losers as we are not only locked out FOREVER of some of Australia’s iconic fishing spots, like Perth Trench, Geographe Bay and reefs in the Coral Sea, but we are not being compensated for it.

“There is a tax payer compensation package for affected commercial fishers, but who is compensating the affected recreational fisher or charter boat operators, what about the corner shop that sells fishing gear and bait! Do we have the right balance Minister?â€

[Gad]

19 Nov 2012

By Tim Carter, marketing manager Halco Tackle

I NEVER thought I would get to the point that I had to write this. As a responsible recreational angler for over 40 years, I have stuck by government imposed size and bag limits, fisheries closures to allow for spawning aggregations and been involved in scientific fish tagging programmes to name but a few aspects of my fishing life.

I have always stuck by the rules but last Friday sealed the day that I became an anarchist in relation to fisheries management. On Friday, federal Environment Minister Tony Burke proclaimed a huge area of Australia's waters as a series of marine parks around the country.

While green groups will no doubt be dancing in the streets over the move, what about recreational anglers in all this? Commercial fishers will be precluded from fishing in these areas as well, but they will receive financial compensation for the exclusion – up $100 million worth, what's the story for recreational anglers? You got a giant kick up the behind, that's what!

Friday's proclamation caps personally, a three year long series of supposed negotiations with the minister and his department.

Unfortunately my report card scores the minister a complete and utter fail for this sham of a process. If there was real science behind the move, I could have lived with that, however, it is not and never has been about science. It's about political payback to the green lobby for the ability of federal Labor to govern this country. It's about the power that overseas funded green groups have over the minister and his department and the absolute treachery and goalpost changing tactics they used to get this through.

The spin and plain untruths of the green lobby has been breathtaking, but the most startling thing I think, has been the conduct of minister Burke. He has even insisted recreational anglers are unaffected by these MPA's. A total bare faced lie I say!

Areas of the Coral Sea, the Rottnest Trench and Geographe Bay are just three areas where recreational anglers are very much affected, and the minister knows it too. There are plenty of other examples out there but these ones in particular are the worst.

He doesn't have the courage to own up to these ones and recreational anglers, the little guys in this game, have found it impossible through the media scrum to get the message out.

Once the minister released a draft of this plan, leaders of the Australian fishing community, including myself, met again with the minister in Canberra to try and thrash out a plan to fix the major sticking points of concern to recreational fishermen.

In that meeting, minister Burke admitted to us that he had made a mistake over the Rottnest Trench decision and stated that he would get back to us once he had a chance to have a look at the situation. Shock and horror, he didn't and has locked us out of an area that we have fished since the late 1940s.

[Do$tylz]

yeah I'd say any rec fisherman in any position that can get loud about it - do it. It's absolutely ridiculous what has happened.