27/04/2005 - A national
workshop on the Gold Coast this week will
help whale rescuers hone their skills in disentangling
the mammals from marine debris, the Minister
for the Environment and Heritage, Senator
Ian Campbell, said today.
"Disentanglements are a major undertaking,
and pose extreme safety issues for the personnel
involved," Senator Campbell said.
"To ensure that we remain world leaders
in this area, the Australian Government is
proud to be hosting this National Large Whale
Disentanglement training workshop.
"Representatives from South Africa are
joining more than 80 state conservation and
fishery experts from South Australia, Victoria,
New South Wales and Queensland for training
in best practice techniques developed here.
"To date in Australia, no human deaths
have occurred while attempting to free whales
from fishing gear, shark nets or other marine
debris, but in 2003 a man died in New Zealand
attempting to disentangle a humpback whale.
"Specific training and equipment is
necessary not only to save whales, but also
to prevent death or injury to those attempting
to free these very large and powerful animals.
Techniques emphasise human safety and do not
involve people getting into the water with
the whale."
The workshop is the third to be funded under
the Australian Government's $3 billion Natural
Heritage Trust. It includes all-day, hands-on
training on the water, with rescuers practicing
techniques on a life-sized model from a boat.
Doug Coughran from WA Conservation and Land
Management (CALM) will be the workshop's principal
trainer. Mr Coughran, the Australia's leading
expert in this field, visited the Centre for
Coastal Studies, Massachusetts USA under a
Churchill Fellowship in 2004. The centre coordinates
many large whale disentanglements in the North
Atlantic.
Senator Campbell said the Government was
also tackling entanglements with a threat
abatement plan for marine debris scheduled
for completion before the statutory deadline
of August 2006. This follows the declaration
of marine debris as a key threatening process
affecting some endangered marine animals under
the Environment Protection and Biodiversity
Conservation Act in 2003.
"As part of the threat abatement plan
we will work with our regional neighbours
to reduce the level of marine debris and we
have discussed the problem with Indonesian
officials," he said.
Australia is also involved in an APEC project
studying abandoned fishing nets. Marine debris
is one of the two themes this year for the
United Nations Informal Consultative Process
on Oceans and Law of the Sea, in which Australia
participates.
