The following appeared on this website on 18th September 2007Emeritus Professor Bob Kearney presented a paper to the Annual Conference of the Australian Society for Fish Biology in Canberra on 12th September 2007.
Whilst it is a damning indictment of the zoning within the Batemans Marine Park, it is also relevant to all the Marine Parks within NSW and possibly other parts of Australia. Bob demonstrates that the science used by the Marine Parks Authority to decide the zoning within the Marine Park is fatally flawed. As well as exaggerating the benefits of MPAs it misrepresents the scientific literature and possibly even "manufacturing results", perhaps the worst crime in Science.
The paper is available on the University of Canberra web page:
http://aerg.canberra.edu.au/reprints/2007_Kearney_pros_cons_marine_protected_areas_NSW.pdfalternatively here:
http://www.recfish.com.au/hot_topics/pdf/Bob%20Kearney%20paper%20Sept%202007.pdfI urge everyone to print it off and read it carefully. We have a window of opportunity to action this, as a matter of urgency, rather than allow the Government to "ride out" the storm
TO BE ACTIONED
Could all groups (Coastal Rights/Ecofishers/Fishing clubs/diving clubs/industry bodies) and individuals with an interest in the Marine Environment send an email AND a letter to the NSW Premier.
We stand a good chance of the zoning within ALL the NSW Marine Parks being revisited if we have a co-ordinated and structured approach. Your Email and letter should be to the NSW Premier.
The NSW Premier,
The Hon. Morris Iemma,
GPO Box 5341,
Sydney, Australia 2001
email
thepremier@www.nsw.gov.auPhone (02) 9228 5239
Points that could be raised in your email/letter could include:
The paper presented by Kearney at the Australian Society of Fish Biology.
The damning indictment of the Science used by the Marine Parks Authority.
The potential for major economic problems associated with flawed zoning regulations.
The potential for non-acceptance of the Marine Parks by 25% of the New South Wales population, who make up the fishing public who will be affected by the zonings within the boundaries of Marine Parks.
Call on a review of the zoning within the Marine Parks based on real science
Marine Parks are NOW managed by National Parks and Wildlife Service.
Dr. Tony Fleming, who is in charge of NPWS, and therefore in charge of Marine Parks, has a Phd in .... Forestry.
Professor Bob Kearney has a Phd in Fisheries Science, a Doctor of Science (DSc.) in Fisheries Science and has been made a member of the Order of Australia (AM) for his contribution to Fisheries Research. He has also been a member of the Australian Biodiversity Advisory Committee. His credentials to speak on this issue are impeccable.
Prof. Kearney's paper is a critique of the Science that the MPA uses to design the Sanctuary zones within NSW Marine Parks. This is presented on the MPA website
http//www.mpa.nsw.gov.au/pdf/MPA-review-benefits.pdf
Following is a few points from Bob Kearney's paper:
On referring to the list of REAL problems associated with near shore Marine environment (pollution, nutrient levels, industrial discharge) "this pivotal listing of key and direct threats to coastal environments which are reported to have resulted in serious damage to 60% of wetlands... does not include fishing" (Page 3 Para. 1)
"Not a single estuarine or beach fishing activity is identified as being responsible for the identified declines, or even as being a threat" (same page and para)
Page 4 and 5 destroy the MPA justification for "beach sanctuary zones)
"The closure of ocean beaches, as included in the Batemans Marine Park, will have absolutely no demonstrable benefit .. (for) the important species on the ocean beaches in the region" (Page 5 Para 4)
On the Leigh Marine Reserve (NZ) the paper by Babcock is misquoted. "Thus the Science paper presents an exaggeration by approximately one hundred fold" (Page 8 Para 2). This is a gross misrepresentation by the MPA of the science.
"Fisheries data, that has been available since the early 1990s, show that a closure of all areas inside 3 nautical miles of the NSW Copast to all fish trawling would benefit many fisheries, particularly the fish trawling industry itself" (Page 10 Para 2)
"for if there is a greater crime in Science than manufacturing "results", it is doing so and then attributing these "results" to somebody else" (Page 12 Para 3) This is the most powerful statement in the paper in my opinion.
"As there is merit in the introductory statement on the MPA website that "Internationally there is support for well designed MPAs". The key words here are "well designed" and "protected". (Page 13 Para 5)
Page 14, Para 2 is a highly significant summation
"Why the MPA has been allowed to introduce and then administer measures which are solely fisheries management when NSW has another body, Department of Primary Industries, with the legislated responsibility for fisheries management, is another matter"
"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." (Page 15 Para 3)
"Not only is it extremely unlikely that there will be any demonstrable benefit to recreational fisheries, certainly not on ocean beaches or in estuaries, but the case for having future beneficial area management will be seriously weakened by the experience of these closures failing to deliver" (Page 16 Para 2)
