Marine parks next wave of water wars

BEYOND the crystal ocean surrounding the Abrolhos Islands off the West Australian coast, a storm is brewing for the federal government.

Raina Savage swims with sea lions at Green Head, where a state sanctuary has improved marine health. Picture: Vanessa Hunter

BEYOND the crystal ocean surrounding the Abrolhos Islands off the West Australian coast, a storm is brewing for the federal government.

The controversy could rival the water wars over the Murray-Darling Basin.

Environment Minister Tony Burke has missed Labor's self-imposed deadline of the end of the year to announce the boundaries of a network of marine sanctuaries in commonwealth waters stretching from Kangaroo Island off the coast of South Australia to the Abrolhos north of Perth.

For several weeks, Mr Burke has been holding roundtable discussions with commercial and recreational fishing representatives and environmental groups, as well as shipping and tourism operators, in a bid to finalise the draft South West Plan, which green groups hope will become the template for marine reserves around the nation.

No-take sanctuary zones would be included within the reserves, where commercial and recreational fishing would be banned to allow fish stocks to replenish. Conservation groups claim research into the marine sanctuaries on the Great Barrier Reef shows reef fish are two to three times more abundant than before the reserves were set up, and migrating species such as whales, turtles and sharks are more common in the sanctuaries.

West Australian tourism operator Rod Wilson, of Sea Lion Charters, says marine health has improved enormously since the creation of a state sanctuary at Green Head, a fishing village about three hours drive north of Perth where he has run charters for more than a decade.

Mr Wilson, who collects data on the sea lion population as part of his licence to take snorkellers to the area, says their numbers have almost doubled since cray fishing was restricted.

The groups claim experience from existing sanctuaries shows exclusion zones lead to more fish in the surrounding waters.

This means some of the best fishing spots of the future are likely to be on the edge of the marine sanctuaries.

But in Western Australia, there is mistrust between the commercial and recreational fishermen and the green groups, and rumours are rife that large areas of ocean will be closed to fishing, and big cuts made to an already diminished fishing fleet.

Tony Abbott campaigned against marine parks before the August federal election.

Conservation Council of WA marine organiser Tim Nicol said the process of establishing marine parks was based on the best science and would put Australia at the front of marine ecosystem management worldwide.

He said the conservation effort would almost certainly involve a reduction of commercial fishing and areas being put off-limits to recreational fishermen, but the benefits would be a healthier marine environment for everyone.

Mr Burke is expected to announce the compensation arrangements for the displaced commercial fishermen before releasing the draft maps of areas for protection. Mr Nicol said the race was now on to get the marine parks in place "before we get a proliferation of oil and gas developments".

The protections are likely to further restrict cray fishing in waters around the Abrolhos Islands, which are given some protection under state legislation.

Abrolhos Island fishing charter operator Jay Cox said he had witnessed a massive decline in fish stocks over the past 35 years, and things were getting worse.

"I think it will be good for fishing if there are more sanctuaries," Mr Cox said.

Commercial fishing spokesman Peter Glass said there were many questions to be answered.

"What it is going to cost to run and what it is going to cost the state and commonwealth in lost revenue, and then the social impact on local communities, and on a more fundamental level, the impact on the cost of consumers being able to buy fresh local Australian fish," Mr Glass said.

Recfishwest spokesman Kane Moyle said there had been little consultation with the recreational fishermen and the organisation believed a number of conservation objectives could be met with minimal impact on the recreational fishing.

Mr Burke said further consultation with stakeholders and the wider community on the South-west Marine Bioregional Plan would begin early next year, and consultation on other marine regions would follow.

"The Gillard government intends to complete the planning and consultation process for marine reserves around Australia during the next year," he said.