South Australia can boast arguably the best managed fisheries in the country thanks to an effective, long-standing partnership between PIRSA and the commercial fishing industry.
Why then do we need over-sized marine parks as proposed by the Department for Environment and Heritage?
The argument for introducing marine parks of such magnitude is even more perplexing when the DEH says our fisheries and marine ecosystem are not actually under any threat.
If there are no threats to our ecosystem or marine habitats, how can the Government justify pouring taxpayer dollars into an elaborate network of marine parks that we don’t actually need? And why should we hand control of so much of our coast to the DEH when PIRSA and the commercial fishing industry already administer our pristine waters so well?
Seafood makes a significant contribution to the SA economy however an uncertain future now looms because of the DEH’s ill-conceived marine park plans, which seriously jeopardise current and future investment in our primary industries.
Let’s safeguard our State’s future primary production investment and protect our waters in a meaningful way by actually identifying any threats to the marine environment and managing accordingly.
Yours sincerely,
Stephen Moriarty
President, Northern Zone Rock Lobster Association
