No, but I needed to go to bed?
... continued:
Q: Just what are you protecting the area from and who for?? Doesn't buying out 13 of the 14 commercial trawlers take away 90% of the impacts?
A: Kelly - a range of impacts are being looked at, from land-based pollution to extractive impacts of fishing.? Commercial fishing is the most heavily impacted (which was followed by someone shouting "BULLSHIT, at? least they get paid out!").? Taking fish out IS the damage according to Kelly.
Q: There is a lot of collective knowledge on the area in this room, so you need to listen to us.? What is wrong with getting rid of the trawlers and giving it a few years to see if things improve, then looking at what is needed after that?
A: No real response.
Q: (Jack Tait) You admit you are not familiar with the area, so how can you confidently advise your Ministers on the Park?
A: Kelly admits he doesn't know (good one Jack!).
Q: Can you please advise why recreational abalone fishing is not also permitted in the Special Purpose Zones?
A: Abalone are important commercially and is a sustainable industry.
Q: So is rec abalone fishing not sustainable?? We can only take 2 per person per day.
A: Allowing areas for commercial abalone fishing reduced the buyout payments required (Ah, the truth, it's because you couldn't afford it!)
Q: You claim that the "precautionary principle" is being applied, but is it "precautionary" or "emotive"?? You want to close and then study, why not study first to see if the closing can be justified?? Have any local studies actually been done?? Do you have any location specific science?
A: Kelly - no but NSW fisheries may have the catch records for the region.
Q: You said you only had 2 people to input submissions, are they working 24 hours?
A: Not too busy so far, we will hire temp workers if needed.
Q: The greenies want up to 50% in Sanctuary Zones. What tdo you think of these claims?
A: Kelly - everyone is entitled to an opinion.
Nigel Scullion, NT Senator took control of the meeting for a short time, explaining his experience with Marine Parks.? He highlighted that the GBRMP rezoning is costing $168m in compensation and still counting.? He said that the Lord Howe Island and other remote Marine Parks works because there is very few people there.? You are not dealing with people's backyards.
He then displayed a map which had large areas marked in red adjacent to the Proposed Sanctuary Zones, which he said just showed the extent of the effort-shift that will result.? He asked Kelly what plans there were to manage the displaced effort?? Kelly had no answer, in fact I think he was stunned into silence.
Q: Someone got up and asked why the had put a Sancuary Zone on the beaches where the Ronald McDonald house is at Rosedale.? He said it was terrible that the sick kids would not be able to walk down the beach to go fishing any more.
A: Again, 4 stunned, very red faces from the MPA.? Kelly said he would look into it (great moments in fishing history that one).
Q: Someone picked up on what others had already said to some extent that given the extensive and greatest ever review of catch sizes and bag limits recently why not wait and then research what difference the implementation of these make to fish stocks? Also, given that by the MPA's own stsatements at the meeting many of the pros are going to bale out and take the hand out (13 of 14) surely this would also suggest that they put the MP on hold until the effect of this can also be guaged.
A: No real response.
Q: Surely you can't say you are protecting fish when beach hauling is still allowed at the mouth of several estuaries. These methods deliberately target spawning aggregations of fish, which can't be sustainable.
A: The Zoning gives a proportionate reduction in effort
To top it all off, Geoff Kelly's parting words were "I don't know what you are all complaining about.? You will still be able to fish in 80% of the park".
Make up your own minds people...
