PROPOSED LOCKOUTS ANGER NSW FISHERS
The fastest way to make fisherfolk angry is to attempt to stop them from going fishing, or to deny them access to popular, productive and accessible locations without some very, very good reasons. One state government in Australia is finding this out right now!
This is an overview of the latest Marine Park proposal in NSW. To study the detail you’ll need to go here.
In late August this year, the NSW State Government released phase three of its Hawkesbury Shelf Marine Bioregion Assessment. Contained within this very extensive series of documents were proposals to create a network of 25 new, enlarged or modified habitat protection zones within an extensive Marine Park stretching from Newcastle to Wollongong and including the entire Sydney metropolitan coastline and harbour.
Included within the various zones of this proposed Marine Park are a significant number of marine sanctuaries, where line and spear fishing would be completely banned if the plan goes ahead, as well as numerous other “special purpose” zones with varying levels of restrictions on different activities, both recreational and commercial.
The Bronte-Coogee area in Sydney’s eastern suburbs contains one of the more contentious proposed sanctuaries, stretching from South Bondi to the northern end of Coogee Beach.
The NSW Marine Estate (the over-arching body behind this proposal) also announced a series of public consultation or information sharing meetings to be staged across the zone throughout late August and into September, as well as inviting both written and on-line submissions from all interested parties. The closing date for this consultation period was initially set down as Thursday, 27 September. At the time of writing there was already some suggestion that this consultation period may be extended due to the intensity of the public backlash against the proposals.
To say that the release of this highly contentious and rather unexpected proposal has created a storm of adverse reaction in recreational fishing circles would be a serious understatement! Within hours of the release of the Marine Estate’s on-line documents, a Facebook group calling itself STOP THE LOCKOUT! was created. In a little over a two weeks, this group had attracted in excess of 45,000 members, with those numbers still growing at the time of publication. The members of this group were overwhelmingly in favour of repealing the proposal in its entirety, and vociferously resisted any calls for negotiation or compromise. Many were also keen to revisit the subject of existing lockout zones in other parts of NSW.
The sanctuary zone and fishing lock out planned for Forresters, north of Sydney, is especially unpopular. It would completely exclude anglers and spearfishers from an extensive stretch of coastline between Bateau Bay and Wamberal Lagoon.
A joint press release from the Australian Fishing Trade Association (AFTA) and the Recreational Fishing Alliance of NSW (RFA) dated 24 August also roundly condemned the NSW State Government’s plans for sanctuary zones within the proposed Hawkesbury Shelf Bioregion Marine Park. This press release stated, in part, that: “There is no justification for any areas to be ‘locked up’ in sanctuary and conservation zones which take away safe, accessible and sustainable fishing locations from recreational anglers.” These sentiments were echoed and reinforced by thousands of posts and comments from increasingly angry rec’ fishers on social media, as well as by callers to talk-back radio programs and the authors of numerous letters and emails to newspapers and members of parliament.
On Monday 27 August, a small delegation representing the tackle and boating trades, as well as key recreational fishing lobby groups, sat down with NSW Minister for Primary Industries, Niall Blair, to express the overwhelming repugnance of the state’s million-plus rec’ fishers for the proposed Marine Park lockouts. Shortly afterwards, Minister Blair released a media statement that read, in part: “There has been considerable angst over the proposal and I am committed to making sure we get the balance right…”
The proposed lockout in the Royal National park, south of Sydney, runs from Martin Head all the way to Garie Beach and takes in some iconic rock fishing ledges. Although described as a “conservation zone” and coloured green instead of pink, it’s proponents still calls for the total exclusion of line and spear fishing.
Further on in the same statement, Minister Blair wrote: “As a fisherman myself, I understand these concerns clearly. My job is to advocate for the fishers of NSW and I won’t be leaving our fishers’ voices out of this process.” Passionate fishers and members of the recreational fishing industry can only hope that the Minister sticks to his word on this undertaking!
Minister Blair concluded his media statement with a strong appeal to all concerned fishers to thoroughly study the proposals before offering their detailed feedback via the formal submission process. Blair also spoke on several radio programs during the early weeks of the debate, reinforcing his message that fishers should step up and have their say, that they would definitely be listened to, and that he should be judged on the outcomes rather than the process. However, he wasn’t willing to officially commit to any rollbacks of the proposals at that stage. I guess time will tell…
In contrast to Minister Blair’s apparent willingness to meet with and listen to rec’ fishers and to respond directly to their obvious concerns, at the time of writing there had been no official response that I could find to these same concerns from the Minister for the Environment, Gabrielle Upton. This despite the fact that her department appears to be the prime mover and shaker behind the current push for expanding no-fishing zones within the Hawkesbury Shelf Marine Bioregion.
The nearest I could find to a response on this subject from the Minister for the Environment was a post on her official page on Facebook dated 17 August, announcing the public release of the proposal. In this post she stated: “Our big blue backyard needs more protection from pollution and litter not just now but for future generations.” I certainly don’t think that too many fishers would disagree with her on that front! Surprisingly, there was no mention at all of the supposed environmental impacts of fishing in her post, despite the fact that one of the key measures contained within the new Marine Park proposal involves denying fishers access to significant stretches of coastline, estuary and ocean, including a string of safe, accessible and iconic shore-fishing locations situated close to populated areas. This seems a very strange strategy indeed for dealing with pollution!
By early September, a growing army of concerned anglers were continuing to organise protests and public meetings right across the affected areas and beyond, while also energetically lobbying politicians of all persuasions and rallying the mainstream media to their cause. Many parallels were already being drawn to the earlier overturning of the proposed greyhound racing ban in NSW, a political struggle that contributed significantly to the departure from office of a former premier in that state.
The fishing lockouts proposed for the new Hawkesbury Shelf Bioregion Marine Park potentially threaten the future of our sport in the most densely populated part of the country, and will limit the growth of participation by families and junior anglers in a healthy, outdoor activity. That could have obvious social impacts.
At the time of publication, the final outcome of this dramatic Marine Park saga remained unclear, but it’s fair to say that the NSW Government has been stunned and blind-sided by the intensity of public reaction, and that the state’s politicians and their bureaucrats are certainly a lot more aware of the passion and commitment of hard core rec’ fishers today than they were a few months ago!
Those of us who care deeply about our sport — and especially any of us who derive any part of our income or livelihood from it — need to stay very much abreast of this critically important issue. We should also encourage as many supporters as we possibly can — be they friends, family, work colleagues, business contacts or whatever — to properly inform themselves about the issues involved, and to complete an on-line submission offering their personal opinions on the current Hawkesbury Shelf Marine Bioregion Assessment proposals before the close of the consultation period.
There’s also much to be said for joining on-line forums such as the STOP THE LOCKOUT! group on Facebook, and for encouraging others to do the same, even if you don’t necessarily agree with all of the political views represented on such pages, or the aggressive tone of some of the comments. The numbers they represent are still important. However, in the end this battle won’t be won or lost solely on social media, nor even on talkback radio shows or the pages of tabloid newspapers. Ultimately, our success or failure in securing and maintaining the right to fish sustainably into the future — in NSW and beyond — will come down to our ability to win what is nowadays referred to as “social licence”, but which many of us from earlier generations know simply as public approval and support. To do that, we need to consistently and rationally prove that fishers are a part of the solution to the environmental challenges facing our aquatic environments, rather than a part of the problem. This endeavor will require the commitment and support of the entire recreational fishing industry as well as all responsible, concerned fishers.
If you’d like to find out more about the latest round of Marine Park proposals currently on the table in NSW, please go to the documents outlining the Marine Park Assessment, or simply click here. You’ll find all of the necessary links. And make sure you correctly complete a submission before the closing date of the consultation period. It’s also CRITICAL that you fill in all sections of the submission carefully, and supply all of the details requested, otherwise your contribution to the discussion might not be accepted and considered. Meanwhile, if you wish to offer your personal support to fellow fishers and business owners fighting to maintain freedom of access to our publicly-owned aquatic resources, consider taking a moment to join the STOP THE LOCKOUT! group on Facebook and consider making a positive, constructive post or comment there. Only by standing united on this important issue do we have any chance at all of securing a favourable outcome. Remember, your voice matters!
PS: You can also watch my short video on this subject here.
