Moreton Bay Marine Park review

The Queensland Government has a 10-year review of the Moreton Bay Marine Park Zoning Plan. The current zones expire on September 1, 2008, and, according to the state government, must be reviewed before this date.

The zoning plan review process is in three-stages: information-gathering and analysis; public consultation on the draft zoning plan; and the final zoning plan.

While the review is still at stage one, stage two, expected to be from now until the end of the year, is sure to be where the real fireworks start, as a draft zoning plan with 'lines on maps' will be produced.

Following the release of the 'map' further community engagement will be called for, including a formal two-month submission period, when people will be able to give feedback, before a final version is developed. Stage three, the final zoning plan, will see it developed, released and implemented by September 1, 2008.

The Moreton Bay Marine Park (MBMP) is in a significant population growth area, from Caloundra to the Gold Coast Seaway at Southport and encapsulates 360 islands, including Bribie, Moreton, North and South Stradbroke.

The MBMP was extended in 1997 to cover most of the bay's tidal lands and waters seawards to the limit of Queensland waters. Totalling 3400km², it protects marine and coastal environments, including rocky shores, internationally significant wetlands, coral reefs, mangroves, seagrass meadows and sandy beaches. The habitats provide resources for migratory wading birds, humpback whales and marine turtles, while permanent residents include dolphins, dugong, shorebirds, grey nurse sharks and various fish species.

The rezoning review has already seen politicians, the marine industry and commentators showing concerns over more restrictions being placed over on-water lifestyles. They fear an extension of zones will restrict the industry and spinoff lifestyles, such as recreational fishing, claiming governments should be looking at greater environmental threats from agriculture, stormwater and industrial runoff, old technology combustion engines, coastal development, siltation, and introduced marine pests.

MARINE LOBBY
The marine lobby is a large group, with its principal media and promotional organ, Marine Queensland (MQ formerly BIAQ) - representing the boating industry and the boating public. MQ's statistical record is a reliable guide to boating trends in the region...

'Recreational boating in Queensland has grown by 67 per cent in the past decade, to 223,425 registered vessels, plus 500,000 licensed drivers. Queensland's marine industry created an annual turnover of $2.6 billion and 11,000 jobs. Soon Queensland will surpass NSW in boating registrations, becoming Australia's largest recreational boating producer and consumer. The Gold Coast is the largest boating community, with 13 per cent of all Queensland boats located in the region.

MQ's database also highlights trailer boats are the dominant sector of the market. In 2007, 78,000 registrations in the 3 to 4m length, and 46,000 registrations were 4 to 4.5m. It can be assumed that most owners are recreational anglers.

Conservation groups campaigning for more protection include the Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland, Queensland Conservation, Australian Marine Conservation Society, National Parks Association of Queensland, and the Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland.

The most prominent of these is the Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS), whose supporters include three times Miles Franklin Award winning author Tim Winton and television chef, author and restaurateur Kylie Kwong.

The AMCS has its own website but has added a second, www.savemoretonbay.org.au, specifically dedicated to increasing the protection areas of Moreton Bay. The home page of 'savemoretonbay' states: less than one per cent of Moreton Bay is protected. Moreton Bay is facing pressure from population growth, coastal development, boating and fishing. Each year 200 threatened turtles are found sick, injured or dead in MBMP and 15 dugongs die from human impacts (some conservationists claim this will cause the extinction of the creature from Moreton Bay due to the mammal's long gestation period of 12 to 14 months).

AMCS said the Queensland Government must listen to scientific advice and protect at least one third of MBMP in 'green zones'. Moreton Bay's wetlands, said AMCS, are recognised internationally as RAMSAR (Ramsar Convention of Wetlands) sites for their importance to migratory shorebirds, and nowhere else in the world can such a wide variety of large marine animals be enjoyed on the doorstep of a major city.

THE ZONES
The Queensland Government has three zones in the MBMP, defined as General Use; Conservation; and Protection Zones or 'green zones'.

Most commercial and recreational activities are allowed in General Use Zones, which make up the majority of the current marine park. Trawling is prohibited, plus some restrictions to personal watercraft. The Protection or 'green zones' conserve some of the park's most environmentally significant sites, where access is allowed, but all extractive activities such as fishing and collecting are prohibited.

EPA Queensland states: "Anyone can enter a green zone for boating, diving, sailing, swimming and snorkelling, although some activities will require a permit, particularly if they are part of a commercial venture. All types of fishing (including trawling), collecting (for example, shells and aquarium fish) and any other extractive activities are prohibited in green zones."

The marine lobby sees 'green zones' as unnecessarily targeting the recreational angler and are concerned they will be forced to look farther afield to fish, incurring additional cost, time and safety issues.

The recreational fishing fraternity feel they are the innocent victim of restrictions, arguing it's keeping all boats away from sensitive dugong and turtle sites, and speed restrictions in these areas are the more appropriate measures. For sure, in relation to turtles, crab pots can be fatal, and destructive to other species, but should not be compared to dangling a line over the side.

A BIOLOGIST'S VIEW
Recreational anglers have found unexpected support from the scientific community. Some marine biologists have noted that the creation and rezoning of marine protected areas (MPAs) have, in some cases seen an over-reaction to poor, incorrect or incomplete science, resulting in draconian laws restricting the recreational angler, while not addressing more immediate and threatening issues.

University of Canberra Emeritus Professor of Fisheries, Bob Kearney, addressed The Australian Society for Fish Biology in Canberra on September 12 under the title The pros and cons of marine protected areas in New South Wales: Who's been hoodwinked?

The subject of his address was the Batemans Marine Park (BMP) on the southern NSW coast.  He was highly critically of the science involved in formulating the Science Paper, when it failed to address real threats such as pollution, siltation, and introduced species.

"The management measures implemented are all nothing more than restraints on fishing. None of the key threats identified for estuaries are addressed in any way," said Prof Kearney.

"Almost all of the other listed causes of 'direct damage', - introduced marine pests, swing mooring chains, propellers and retrieval of anchors, - are totally ignored, except for retrieval of anchors, which is mentioned in the zoning plan as being permitted in all zones, including sanctuaries, except over seagrass beds in sanctuaries.

"Thus there is extremely little action against anything, even if it has been identified as a threat, except fishing of any sort.

"The Batemans Marine Park is nothing more than an external agency imposed fisheries management measure, and an extremely poorly conceived and designed one, at that.

"Why the Marine Parks Authority (MPA) is allowed to introduce and administer measures which are solely fisheries management, when NSW has another body, DPI (Department of Primary Industry), with the legislated responsibility for fisheries management, is another matter," Prof Kearney said.

He continues: "Has the MPA been hoodwinked by the authors of its own reports? The bias in the documents is so consistent it's hard to believe management was not complicit.

"Not only is it extremely unlikely 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," Prof Kearney said.

When marine biologists, like Prof Kearney, can easily discredit the Science Paper re Batemans Marine Park, finding the recreational angler an easy scapegoat, then it's cause for concern for the people of Moreton Bay that the whole zoning review process must not be allowed to be flawed.

Fishing is one of the main recreational activities conducted in Australia and because of its popularity multiplied by an increasing population, is becoming more and more regulated.

It will be unacceptable to see Moreton Bay sealed up in a way where the heavily regulated common angler who wants to drop a line over the side cannot do so at all, while greater environmental issues are not being addressed.