14 December
2006 - New amendments to the Great Barrier Reef
Marine Park Regulations, which came into effect
today, will give Marine Park enforcement officers
the ability to issue on-the-spot fines to recreational
fishers found illegally fishing in green zones.
The Minister for the Environment
and Heritage, Senator Ian Campbell, Senator Ron
Boswell and Federal Member for Leichhardt, Warren
Entch, announced the new arrangements today.
“Senator Boswell and Warren
Entsch have played important roles in a delegation
of Queensland Coalition parliamentarians that
asked me to review the penalty system to ensure
it was in line with community expectations,"
Senator Campbell said.
“Breaches of our environmental
management regimes are a serious concern, however,
I recognise it is important to structure the penalties
associated with these breaches to ensure the system
is efficient and fair.”
Senator Boswell said the new
infringements notice offences would attract a
fine of $1000 and be a significant change to the
way minor recreational fishing offences are handled.
“Less serious cases will continue
to be dealt with by an advisory letter rather
than a fine,” Senator Boswell said.
Previous arrangements meant
recreational fishers found illegally fishing in
a green zone were dealt with by the court system.
Mr Entsch said tying up the
court system with simple recreational fishing
offences was not an efficient use of resources
for either the courts or Marine Park officers.
“My concern was anyone convicted
of a breach, irrespective of the seriousness of
the infringement, incurred a criminal record and
the potential serious ramifications which in my
view was totally unacceptable,” Mr Entsch said.
“This new system of infringement
notices will give enforcement officers the option
to deal with matters relating to recreational
fishing in green zones quickly and effectively.
“On any given weekend, thousands
of recreational fishers are out in the Marine
Park. Occasionally some of these people do the
wrong thing and it is important to have a system
in place to deal with these occurrences in an
appropriate and sensible way.”
The area covered by Green Zones
within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park was
significantly increased in 2004 with the introduction
of the GBRMPA’s Representative Areas Programme.
Rhiannon Keen (Senator Campbell's office)
Paul Leven (Senator Boswell's office)
Charlie McKillop (Warren Entsch's office)
Marine planning pioneered in
south-west oceans
13 December 2006 - A new, world-leading
approach to marine planning will be pioneered
in Australia’s south-western waters in a development
that will benefit both the ocean environment and
marine industries.
Australian Minister for the
Environment and Heritage, Senator Campbell, launched
the South-West Marine Bioregional Plan in Fremantle
today as he welcomed the return of the Kimberley
Quest survey vessel after a joint Commonwealth-state
marine science voyage to map the sea floor in
the region.
Senator Ian Campbell said the
South-West Marine Region - which stretches from
the mid West Australian coast south around the
Great Australian Bight to Kangaroo Island off
South Australia - is the first Australian marine
region to undergo planning under the recently
strengthened national environment legislation.
The Plan is the first to be
undertaken under the federal Environment Protection
and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (the EPBC
Act) after the Howard Government announced changes
to its marine planning process in late 2005. The
new approach will for the first time provide a
clear legislative base for marine conservation
planning as well as greater certainty for marine
industries.
"By managing our oceans
sustainably, we can ensure the future of our marine
industries and coastal communities as well as
protecting ocean ecosystems," Senator Campbell
said.
Senator Campbell said that changes
to the planning process will ensure broad engagement
with community members, including conservation
groups, industry and state governments; is central
to the development of the plan.
"Our agreement with the
Western Australian Government will see marine
planning occur concurrently for part of the inshore,
State waters along the south coast as well as
the vast Commonwealth waters which extend to 200
nautical miles from land," Senator Campbell
said.
"The joint government approach
seeks to ensure, where possible, a coordinated
and cooperative approach to marine planning that
will further advance the sound management and
protection of Australia’s marine resources."
"I look forward to the
production of the Regional Profile in early 2006
and following that the draft and final South-west
Marine Bioregional Plan, including a network of
marine reserves."
Regina Titelius
Marine mapping mission continues
in Western Australia
13 December 2006 - Cutting-edge
underwater mapping technology is revealing the
hidden depths of Western Australia’s sea floor.
The $4.2 million Securing Western
Australia’s Marine Futures project, running for
just under a year, uses hydroacoustic surveys
and underwater video footage to generate state-of-the-art
habitat maps of the marine environment from Kalbarri
to Eucla.
Funded by the Australian Government’s
Natural Heritage Trust and the Western Australian
Government, the project is a partnership between
the South Coast Regional Initiative Planning Team,
the University of Western Australia, Fugro Survey
Pty Ltd and natural resource management agencies,
with input from stakeholders.
Australian and Western Australian
Government Ministers joined the Marine Futures
project team on board the Kimberley Quest in Fremantle
today for an update on recent voyages to the Mid-West.
Australian Ministers for the
Environment and Heritage, Senator Ian Campbell,
and Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Peter
McGauran, said the data would help to guide marine
planning.
“This is about backing decisions
with the best available science to benefit the
environment, fishing industries and the wider
community,” Senator Campbell said.
“The Marine Futures project
involves hydroacoustic surveys to find out about
seafloor contours, video surveys, biodiversity
surveys, research on human uses and a community
outreach programme.
“In terms of mapping the team
has already covered more than 900 square kilometres
of sea floor including Cape Naturaliste and Geographe
Bay, Rottnest Island, Jurien Bay and the Abrolhos
Islands.
“The success of the project
is very much based on strong partnerships, while
the research itself is going to be wide-reaching
– it’ll feed into the South-west Marine Bioregional
Planning process, which I also announced during
our visit to Fremantle.”
Western Australian Minister
for Agriculture and Food; Forestry, Kim Chance,
said the Marine Futures voyages saw the hydroacoustic
survey team working 24 hours a day, seven days
a week.
“These trips have up to 15 people
on board working in shifts as they ‘mow the lawn,’
painstakingly scanning marked sections of the
sea floor,” Mr Chance said.
“The multibeam underneath the
boat delivers images of the sea floor back to
team above, where they watch the high-tech modelling
appear on a number of computer screens.
“These voyages are followed
by video surveys taken in areas with the greatest
variations – for example, where shallow areas
drop rapidly into a deeper seabed.
“Habitat maps for the Capes
and Rottnest are nearly complete, so the team
is collecting anecdotal evidence along the west
coast to find out about fishing and recreational
use over past decades.”
Western Australian Minister
for the Environment, Mark McGowan, said other
experts were using the visual work to support
their more detailed analysis of marine plant and
animal life.
“The biodiversity team is undertaking
surveys to understand the relationship between
fish and invertebrates - such as Queen Snapper
and abalone – and their habitats,” Mr McGowan
said.
“Once completed, the mapping,
biodiversity assessment and analysis of human
use patterns will help regional NRM groups set
targets for future management.
“Marine Futures also has a great
outreach programme, which sees the team visiting
ports in places like Busselton and Geraldton to
give communities an opportunity to be part of
the experience.”
The Ministers congratulated
everyone involved in work to date and in particular
thanked the Kimberley Quest crew for its ongoing
support.
For more information contact
Dr. Jessica Meeuwig on (08) 6488 1464. More detail
on the Natural Heritage Trust is at www.nht.gov.au.
For the South-west Marine Bioregional Planning
process visit http://www.deh.gov.au/coasts/mbp/south-west/
Editors please note: underwater
footage is available at the event. Contact Richard
Wilson, DEH Public Affairs, on 0419 699 682.
Regina Titelius (Minister Campbell)
Ben Houston (Minister McGauran)
Alicia Miriklis (Minister Chance)
Kym Coolhaas (Minister McGowan)
