22/07/2005 - Hobart's
role as an Antarctic Gateway has been strengthened
with the signing of a joint Memorandum of
Understanding between the Australian and Tasmanian
Governments.
Greg Hunt MP, federal Parliamentary Secretary
to the Minister for the Environment and Heritage
and Lara Giddings MHA, Tasmanian Minister
for Economic Development today signed the
MoU that will see the international Agreement
on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels
(ACAP) gain a permanent secretariat in the
city's Salamanca district.
"Today's signing brings to fruition
an undertaking I made at the historic first
ACAP Meeting of Parties in Hobart last November
to establish the Secretariat in Australia,"
Mr Hunt said
"The development of ACAP was a key initiative
of the Australian Government and we are proud
of our leading role in establishing the permanent
home for the Secretariat here in Hobart in
conjunction with the Tasmanian Government.
"This demonstrates our commitment to
ACAP and its long-term future in reducing
the hundreds of thousands of deaths of these
magnificent seabirds each year from longline
fishing – a method still used by several nations.
In addition, Australia remains at the forefront
of working with the international fishing
industry to reduce the impact of longlining.
"The Australian Government will be providing
administrative and financial support to the
ACAP Secretariat and we are pleased the Tasmanian
Government is assisting by providing accommodation
and funding for the secretariat office."
Ms Giddings said today's decision demonstrated
the importance of Hobart as Australia's gateway
to Antarctica.
"It is appropriate that the ACAP secretariat
should be housed at Salamanca Place, a stone's
throw from the Hobart waterfront with its
long history as a starting point for expeditions
to Southern Ocean and Antarctic regions,"
Ms Giddings said.
"We are very pleased to be a part of
this initiative and look forward to working
with the Australian Government and ACAP on
the ongoing work to protect these wonderful
seabirds.
"Albatrosses and petrels face far greater
danger in these modern times. As well as longline
fishing, other dangers at sea include marine
pollution, debris in which albatrosses and
petrels can become entangled or can ingest
and over-fishing of the prey.
"On land, they are at the mercy of feral
pests and disease or have to compete with
other species for nesting space."
Background
The Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses
and Petrels (ACAP) is a multilateral agreement
which seeks to conserve albatrosses and petrels
by coordinating international activity to
mitigate known threats to populations of these
endangered seabirds. ACAP has been developed
under the auspices of the Convention on the
Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild
Animals (CMS).
ACAP came into force on 1 February 2004 following
the ratification of six Parties (Australia,
New Zealand, Ecuador, Spain, the Republic
of South Africa and the United Kingdom). France
and Peru have since ratified while Argentina,
Brazil and Chile have signed the agreement
but have yet to ratify it.
The development of ACAP was a key initiative
of the Australian Government in 1997 and Australia
has actively promoted ACAP and provided interim
secretariat services.
