MARINE PARKS DISCUSSION - ABC COUNTRY HOUR 12 to 1pm.

[CEO]

     One of our Batemans Bay ECOfisher members phoned in a comment to the ABC's "Country Hour" today about how the local community was totally "dudded" by the Marine Park Authority. It was broadcast on todays program and it was a beaut summary of the situation. This is the same message that reluctant coastal communities give, that have government marine parks imposed upon them.
    ECOfishers have excited considerable community concern with our science, facts, figures and green myth busting, right around the state. And it is still going on. We are not going to give up this fight for a fair go for NSW recreational fishing families.
    Now there is a RUMOUR that the ABC's "Country Hour, " (12 noon to 1pm on regional radio) will be having a futher discussion, on marine parks, tomorrow. The greenies are regular listeners and call back frequently, trying to influence the rural population about the evils of eating red meat, the dangers of genetically modified Canola, the cruelty of muellsing sheep, the sheer stupidity of growing and irrigating cotton, the methane problems cattle cause and its impact on global warming, etc etc. So it will certainly be worth tuning in tomorrow and if marine parks get a gallop, be sure to phone in and have your say. Especially those of you who are still living with the imposition of marine parks upon your life style. That clearly includes our ECOfishers from Byron Bay, Coffs Harbour, Port Stephens, Jervis Bay, Batemans Bay and surrouning areas, and our handful of valuable members from Lord Howe Island.
  ECOfishers doesn't post rumour, we leave that to people who hear tales from little birds, so we will try and confirm this story tomorrow and post a message here, as early and as soon as possible, AFTER 9am.

[CEO]

   PS Acouple of quick quotes from Kearney would be most opportune and don't forget to acknowledge our colleague as Emeritus Professor! That will impress the rural audience and make the greenies squirm!

[CEO]

   Geez. I thought I posted this on our marine park page. I know one ECOfisher who won't be impressed when he sees it. So I am apologising now CEO.

[ACTAngler]

I wonder if that was the same ECOfishers member (I assume he is still a member) who phoned me the other night, asking if I could record him debating Marine Parks with John Perkins on the ABC breakfast show this morning?

Fancy that, ECOfishers asking ME for help!  Now there's a story for the little birdies!!!

[CEO]

     CONFIRMED! Bateman's Bay Jack Tait and the Friends of Durras today on the ABC's Country Hour and Associate Prof Booth on Monday. David Claughton hopes to do a more extensive "marine park program," later in the peace.
     Please don't forget to phone in and have your 2 bobs worth. Keep this issue in front of the NSW community. For NSW coastal communities inflicted with government marine parks, it is the most confronting issue they have ever had to face!

[ACTAngler]

I have this morning's ABC interview recorded.  Perhaps I can pass it on at the Unity Summit 

[CEO]

    Country Hour: Today they played a snippet of ECOfishers friend Jack Tait debating the merits of the Batemans Bay marine park with  a"Friend of Durras." David Claughton, the presenter, said today was an opportunity to hear from the "activists." On Monday he will be presenting the scientists side, especially the views of marine park suopporter, Assoc Prof Booth.
    The real issue for the community here is that the Marine Park Authority, (nor any of their suppporters) have been able to identify any real threat to the sustainability, of the fisheries resources, or the associated marine ecosystems, ecosystems, from family recreational fishing, We all know what the real threats are and government marine parks do absolutely nothing about addressing those threats. They unjustifably and unnecessarily, ban family recreational fishing. That's what we've been on about since 2002, when the SIMP (Coffs Harbour) came up for review and overnight, went from 2% sanctuary zone to 12%
  The case of the offshore fishing families from Byron Bay is even more draconian. They only get to use only 0.1% of the government marine park and for only 4 months of the year.  For ther other 8 months their traditional fishing grounds revert to government sanctuary zone!
   The call back number for the Country Hour is  1300 700 222.

[ACTAngler]

Someone should tell Bob Kearney and get him to call in on Monday.  Kearney v Booth; I'd pay admission to sit in on that debate!

[CEO]

     ABC's "Country Hour" presenter, David Claughton, has told ECOfishers, he would like to do a more"comprehensive wrap," on the marine park issue later in the year, IF there is enough interest from the rural listeners. So generate that interest by phoning in at the 1300 number he gave us above. Sadly, metropolitan listeners don't hear the Country Hour on ABC's 702 network.
                       1300 700 222.  Go on. Have a go. You and we will all enjoy some "grass roots," feedback!

[CEO]

   Could be an interesting discussion with Assoc Prof Booth Tomorrow. Alternatively it could be a total flop. We have to tune in to find out! 12 to 1pm Monday! Country Hour on regional ABC.

[CEO]

   Perhaps we need to understand and recognize that the "Country Hour," can't be too critical of NSW Labor - whether it is justified or not. After all, the current minister for agriculture is also the minister for NSW Fisheries! The Country Hour and associated Rural Report, rely quite heavily on in-put from the minister. If he declined to contribute there wouldn't be much of a Country Hour or Rural Report. So that fact may temper what they choose to put to air, on olde aunty.
   ECOfishers research among our thousands of members, indicates the vast majority don't even listen to the ABC - because of bias and subjective reporting.

[CEO]

    ....and the bias and subjective reporting goes way back to the implementation of marine parks and the Grey Nurse shark saga, early 2000's.

[CEO]

     Well, what a flop that was! A total non event. Olde aunty went to water again. Even supporting NOT taking an old shell off the beach - prefering to leave only footprints! Our mate, Dave Clark from the Narooma Fishing Club got a guernsey and a greenie in response saying, "we need these parks as a buffer." Apparently the planet is going down the gurgler rapidly, according to her. We haven't noticed, though. And she wasn't able to say a buffer against what, either.
  Anyway you can all leave your comment on their fedback line on 8333 22 39.
                Bateman's  isn't the only marine park in the state!

[Dr. Phil]

On Friday 27th March the ABC Country Hour had an interview with two people from the Batemans Marine Park area. Jack Tait (Coastal Rights does not support )and John Perkins (Greenie .. supports more Marine Parks)

They said they would follow with an interview with Professor Booth, University of Technology, who is VERY supportive of Marine Parks. I sent the following to the ABC in a desperate bid to try and get some balance.

NAROOMA PORT COMMITTEE
Chairman Dr. Philip Creagh
PO Box 596,
Narooma, NSW, 2546

Greetings David Claughton, Michael Condon, Sarina Locke and Kim Honan

Following your brief report on NSW Marine Parks on Friday 27th March 2009 you stated you were going to interview Professor Booth to discuss the science of NSW Marine Parks on Monday 30th March..

For the past three years I have been intimately involved with the formation of the Batemans Marine Park, between Brush Island, south of Ulladulla and Wallaga Lake, just North of Batemans Bay. Following Booth?s letters to the Narooma News, disparaging Professor Kearney and myself, I have challenged Professor Booth to a debate on the benefits of ?no take? fishing zones within NSW Marine Parks on two separate occasions, with no answer.

I am a Veterinary Scientist, recently retired from Canberra to Narooma on the South Coast of NSW. I have 35 years experience of practice, including various wildlife and fishery interests and I am a life member of the Australian Veterinary Association. I have been a vociferous critic of the NSW Marine Parks and their ?promise? of helping the inshore NSW Marine environment. Unfortunately they have turned out to be misguided fisheries allocation mechanisms that will have NO benefit for the Estuaries and Coastal rivers of NSW, other than placing unfair restrictions on recreational and commercial fishers alike. I am concerned that NSW Marine Parks will cause significant socio-economic damage to regional coastal towns that have been largely forgotten by the NSW Labor Government because, as with much of rural and regional NSW, the NSW coalition holds virtually all those seats.

The NSW Marine Parks have been unduly influenced by the scientific members of the Australian Marine Sciences Association (AMSA), one of two peak marine associations in NSW. They have managed to garner their positions on the Advisory Committees of the various Marine Parks (Batemans, Port Stephens), they have been made the scientific manager of others (Batemans, Jervis Bay, Port Stephens and Solitary Islands) by actively lobbying the NSW Labor Government and the NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change wherein the Marine Parks Authority (MPA) is situated. This Department is made up of a large proportion of environmental zealots. They have been actively assisted by the National Parks Association and the Nature Conservation Council.

The science has been abused, selectively quoted and used in a manner more akin to Professor McBride?s falsification of data to support his hypothesis, than true science.

Professors Booth, Gladstone, Associate Prof Davis, Dr. Kelaher and Dr. Melinda Coleman are all executive members of the NSW Branch of AMSA. They are all associated with the Batemans and Port Stephens Marine Park at an advisory or employment level.

Fortunately there are several prominent marine scientists who are not enamored of the way NSW Marine Parks are structured, these include many members of the Australian Society of Fish Biology (ASFB, the other peak marine organization), Richard Tilzey and the most prominent critic would be Emeritus Professor Bob Kearney (See CV below).

I have attached Professor Kearney?s three papers dealing with the abuse of science associated with the design and mechanisms of NSW Marine Parks

1. Review of NPA ?Torn Blue fringe?, 60 pages. Is a good holistic summary.
2. Paper condemning Science 12-09-2007, 15 pages Is Prof Kearney?s first paper
3. Paper at Cronulla October 2008, 15 pages is the second paper

There are a few of the questions I would like to ask Professor Booth on Monday?s interview. The Answers, believe it or not, are from the MPA document ?Review of Marine Park benefits and related zoning considerations? which was co-written by the AMSA members outlined above.:

? What are the main threats to NSW Inshore waters? (Answer = ?Activities such as commercial and recreational fishing, coastal development, catchment activities, pollution and introduced marine pests contribute to the incremental loss of habitats such as ?? SO Fishing is not the only threat!!!

? Why is fishing the only activity restricted in sanctuary zones in NSW Marine Parks? (Answer = ?..marine park zoning arrangements currently are not designed to address all the threats to the oceans such as pollution, disease, invasive species, and climate change, they can contribute to an improvement in the overall health of marine ecosystems ?? SO why is fishing the only ?perceived? threat that is banned

? What biodiversity or fishery benefits have been seen in sanctuary zones within NSW Marine Parks within the last 15 years from the elimination of recreational fishing (Answer = NONE). If Booth claims a study on Crabs in Solitary Islands or Red Morwong in Jervis Bay, please see Kearney (2007)

? Professor Booth may well mention the ?consensus statement? signed by 65 members of AMSA, what he won?t mention are those prominent scientists that have refused to sign it. Not forgetting that consensus does NOT equal peer review.

Professor Booth will present the view as a strong advocate of sanctuary zones within marine parks, and drastically reducing Commercial fishing. However against this has to be balanced the fact that NSW imports up to 91% of its fish from overseas and interstate at a cost of $1.8 Billion.
With more and more Marine Parks in NSW and a proposed MP for Sydney, does anyone in Sydney wonder why Flathead fillets cost up to $42.00/Kg? Perhaps Professor Booth could be asked the price of Flathead fillets?

Despite this and the voodoo economics from the Green Conservation groups (NCC,NPA) claiming great economic benefits to country towns with Marine Parks associated with them, the Sydney Labor machine will be more desperate to hold onto the Green preference votes at the March 2011 State Election.

Below are a few comments on Professor Kearney?s October 2007 paper

When talking about the improvements in ecosystems and habitats produced by Sanctuary zones, Professor Kearney demonstrates that the Science paper has made an error of approximately 100 fold when claiming fisheries benefits of the Leigh Marine Reserve in New Zealand. This is more than just an error in the mathematics. This is a blatant attempt to hoodwink the public, both fishers and non-fishers, into believing that sanctuary zones in marine Parks will be a panacea for the Oceans ills.

Professor Kearney goes on to examine the zoning of beach areas as Sanctuary zones and is similarly scathing in his assessment of the Science paper. The Science paper suggests that for beach fish species, "to effectively provide protection, whole beaches need to be included in single sanctuaries, due to movement along the beach". When the two supporting papers were examined by Professor Kearney he stated that "the logical conclusion from the two papers referenced is that there is no conservation benefit at all from closing sandy beaches as the fish are migratory and not responsive to this type of area management (sanctuary zones)." He concludes "Claiming '"protection"' of ocean beaches by implementing a fishing closure as detailed in the Batemans Marine Park documentation is a total misrepresentation of reality"

The final words should be left to Professor Kearney's assessment of the NSW Marine Parks: "The documentation relating to the creation of the Batemans Marine Park is perhaps best described as very poorly disguised advocacy marketed to the unsuspecting public as science. This is a sham. So much so that not only does it totally discredit the Batemans Marine Park, but it calls into question the credibility of the Marine Parks Authority and the justification of all existing and proposed marine parks in New South Wales."

The Narooma Port Committee

The Narooma Port Committee is fighting for:
Fair and equitable zoning within the Batemans Marine Park, in particular scientific issues surrounding sanctuary zones.
Challenging misinformation from extreme Green Conservatiuon groups in relation to Montague Island and the protection of the Grey Nurse Shark.
The Narooma Port Committee is a volunteer, community based organization made up of representatives from the recreational and commercial line fishermen, Charter Boat operators, Tackle stores, boating industry, accommodation facilities and licenced clubs who use the port of Narooma, on the far south coast of New South Wales.

The Committee has an ancillary role in lobbying Government, or Council, in any matters that affect the Boating interests of Narooma, NSW.

Curriculum Vitae for Professor Robert Kearney PhD, DSc, AM

Bob Kearney is Emeritus Professor of Fisheries at the University of Canberra. He is currently Chairman of the Research Committees of the Hermon Slade Foundation and the Australia and Pacific Scientific Foundation.

His career in fisheries and environmental research and management includes the following previous positions: Principle Fisheries Scientist for the Department of Agriculture, Stock and Fisheries in Papua New Guinea and Personal Advisor to the Minister of Fisheries and Forestry, Founder and Director of the Skipjack and Tuna Programs for the Secretariat of the South Pacific Community, Chief Scientist of the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission, Director of the New South Wales Fisheries Research Institute, Professor of Environmental Science and Head of the School of Resource Environmental and Heritage Sciences at the University of Canberra, Foundation Board Member of the Australian Fisheries Research and Development Corporation, Board Member of the Australian Fisheries Management Authority, Foundation Board Member of two Cooperative Research Centers (Aquaculture and Freshwater Ecology), Member of the Australian Government Biodiversity Advisory Committee and the Threatened Species Scientific Committee, and Chairman of the Board of the WorldFish Center.

He is the author of approximately 150 scientific and technical papers and the recipient of more than 20 million dollars in research grants. Major research achievements include the first assessments of the tuna resources and related fisheries in the central and western Pacific and identification and first documentation of the need for a regional fisheries agency to manage these fisheries. More recent research projects include modelling Australia?s fisheries production and consumption to 2050 and beyond, reducing conflict between recreational and commercial fishers, and injecting industry perspectives into the use of marine protected areas for conservation and fisheries management purposes. In 2005 he was awarded the Order of Australia (AM) in recognition of his contribution to international and Australian fisheries research and management.

[CEO]

   Thank you so much again, Dr Phil, for your continuing support and detailed responses. ECOfishers also phoned in another response today, on their feedback line. We all wait with "baited" breath to see the ABC's response - via the Country Hour. Predictably, we will all probably die of asphyxiation! Promoting NOT taking an old shell off the beach! How long since these people have been on a beach? They are truly out of touch with the rest of the community.