RFA joins the campaign

Fish chief calls for moratorium 09 Dec 08 @ 09:00am by TERRY COLLINS

RECREATIONAL Fishing Alliance chairman Malcolm Poole has called for an immediate moratorium on the expansion, alteration or creation of any marine parks pending further scientific research.

?Marine parks themselves are not a major problem - it is how they are implemented and what goes into implementing them that is the problem,? Mr Poole said.

?The National Parks Association rarely consults outside its own forum.

?There should be a lot more co-operation; we should be a united force in preserving the coastline.?

Mr Poole said anglers had always been regarded as the true conservationists when it came to the aquatic environment.

?Before the birth of any green groups, all fishers were lobbying for responsible fishing rules and changes to some unsustainable fishing practices,? he said.

Mr Poole said the proposed marine park along the Central Coast would have ?huge impact?.

?You only have to look at the experience of the Great Barrier Reed marine parks to see that the $19 million compensation package proposed is inadequate,? he said.

?It is not only the commercial fishermen who will be affected.

?Businesses will be forced to close.

?The flow-on effect has not really been thought through.?

TERRIGAL State Liberal MP Chris Hartcher has vowed to oppose plans for a marine park along the Central Coast.

Mr Hartcher said he had a real concern the State Government would accept the proposal in an effort to capture the green vote before the next NSW election.

?This proposal would exclude all fishing on large areas of the Central Coast,? Mr Hartcher said.

?We fought a similar proposal for Batemans Bay which was adopted just before the 2007 election and we will fight this one. It is totally over the top and will rob tens of thousands of residents of their recreational activity.

?I will meet fishing representatives before Christmas to co-ordinate a strategy to fight this proposal.?

Marine park would ?ruin? most charter operators

A PROPOSED marine park along the Central Coast would spell economic ruin for the fishing industry, charter boats spokesman Scott Thorrington said.

He labelled the plan a ?crock?.

?This proposal would spell financial ruin for most charter boat operators,? said Mr Thorrington, who is the Central Coast representative for the Charter Boat Association.

?Not only that, it would also affect thousands of holidaymakers and recreational fishermen.

?Fishing is a $500 million industry in NSW and that doesn?t take into account such things as boat sales and the flow-on financial effects to the community.

?When people charter a boat they spend money at local hotels, clubs, theatres and shops - it would have a huge impact on the coast?s economy.?

Mr Thorrington said fishing was one recreational pursuit which was easily affordable.

?I have been in the charter boat industry for 25 years and this would ruin me,? he said.

?It would also have a huge impact on commercial fishermen and even on the average Joe Blow who likes to take his kids fishing off a wharf at the weekend.

?I believe the report has been based on scientific inaccuracies.?

Mr Thorrington said charter boat owners were ?dead set against? any further restrictions to fishing areas.

?We already operate under very fair bag limits,? he said.

?Ninety per cent of the marlin caught from my boat are tagged and re-released.?

National Parks Association spokesman Andrew Cox said the proposal did not specify which parts of the coastline would be closed to fishing - this decision would be up to the State Government. ?The best fishing areas will be taken into account when deciding upon sanctuaries,? he said.

MARINE expert Bill Gladstone would like to see a lot more scientific support for the marine park proposal.

Dr Gladstone, who is an associate professor and head of marine science at the University of Newcastle?s Central Coast Campus, Ourimbah, said he was unconvinced the proposal had sufficient research to support it.

?I believe marine parks are an essential part of coast management - but not the only component,? Dr Gladstone said.

?This is a very interesting proposal but I would like to see a lot more science done to justify it and a lot more consultation.

?If this is to proceed any further there needs to be comprehensive consultation with the stakeholders who use the waterways.

?I would like to see more evidence of the science behind the recommendations - this really needs detailed scientific analysis.

?It is a very ambitious proposal and would have a large effect on a number of waterways users and associated businesses.?