bbayjohn
10-05-2010, 21:49
copied this from another site
WARNING WARNING
There is a Marine Protected Area coming to Batemans Bay/Narooma/Bermagui that is 15 times bigger than the NSW Batemans Marine Park. To be honest I am rather depressed at the way this MPA is being developed. Unless we take a stand the steamrolling will be relentless .. today (Friday 7th May) I just heard Nicki Hammond from the National Parks Association on “Country Hour”.
Following is my record of possibly the one and only consultation meeting in this area.
Greetings All
Thursday 6th May started off slow, ended up very busy!!
In the morning I heard on the ABC the Commonwealth was down here having meetings in Merimbula, Eden and Bermagui, shortly after received a couple of emails about the experience of the Charter boat people in Port Stephens in relation to the proposed Commonwealth Marine Park in Port Stephens. Not having heard ANYTHING down here it sounded ominous.
Ian Ford of Hot Shot charters Bermagui sent an email out saying there was a meeting on Keith Appleby’s boat about 4:30. I asked Keith if I could come, I had to go out for rest of day. Went to Bermi in a rush and it was just starting. Didn’t have time to contact any Narooma people .. sorry.
Present were:
Philip Boxall .. a member of a Tasmanian fishing family, now with DEWHA .. He is based in Tasmania and I think he said he was “in charge” of Commonwealth Marine Reserve system.
Martin Russel .. has been fishing for ‘years’. Now with DEHWA and he is the public face for East Coast system, he is based in Brisbane.
Also present were about 10 skippers and deckies from various Bermagui Charter boats, plus Keith Appleby, Ian Ford, as well as Paul Black, President Bermagui GFC.
Boxall and Russel had just completed a meeting with Commercial fishers, I don’t think they had any intention of having a meeting with Charter Boats/Rec people when they arrived in Bermagui that morning.
After the NSW Government effort with the Batemans Marine Park, what they had to say was depressingly familiar.
Best summarized by
• The “Batemans Area for further Assessment” was just not going to be a complete lockout. However the Area is set in cement. From north of Bawley Point to south of Bermagui, off Bunga Beach/Cuttagee? It starts 3nm. off the Coast and extends out about 90nm off the Coast.
• There WILL be total ‘no take’ zones, but these will be “designed to NOT interact with Charter Boats operators or Rec fishers AS FAR AS POSSIBLE”
• The Consultation process concludes late May 2010 (The end of this month !!!)
• The draft plan, including zoning, will be released early 2011
• This means that it will be up to the community to make representation about the ‘no take’ zones, rather than the Government having to PROVE that the “no take” zones are required. This is an important point as this was what happened with the Batemans Marine Park zoning draft plan.
• There will be a 3 months comment period.
• Finalisation by 2012. This is for the whole of Australia !!!
• The South West of Australia is more advanced in their process .. their draft will be out by August 2010.
• An fair amount of explanation of why it was necessary to have these areas .. none of which made ANY logical sense. We were spoken to as though we had never heard of a Marine Park, and I suspect because the Bermagui people had not experienced the zoning process in Batemans they were not quite as cynical as I was. I suspect that if the meeting was held in Narooma/Batemans Bay there would have been much more derision of some of their ‘explanatory’ statements.
• Perhaps this is why they have only held meetings in Eden, Merimbula, Bermagui and Ulladulla down here. Those are of course the Commercial fisher ‘centres’ so to speak. Because Port Stephens had seen the State Marine Park process those people (see description of Boxall and Russel by a charter skipper from P.S.) those people were far more cynical?
• A question re potential compensation .. this
WARNING WARNING
There is a Marine Protected Area coming to Batemans Bay/Narooma/Bermagui that is 15 times bigger than the NSW Batemans Marine Park. To be honest I am rather depressed at the way this MPA is being developed. Unless we take a stand the steamrolling will be relentless .. today (Friday 7th May) I just heard Nicki Hammond from the National Parks Association on “Country Hour”.
Following is my record of possibly the one and only consultation meeting in this area.
Greetings All
Thursday 6th May started off slow, ended up very busy!!
In the morning I heard on the ABC the Commonwealth was down here having meetings in Merimbula, Eden and Bermagui, shortly after received a couple of emails about the experience of the Charter boat people in Port Stephens in relation to the proposed Commonwealth Marine Park in Port Stephens. Not having heard ANYTHING down here it sounded ominous.
Ian Ford of Hot Shot charters Bermagui sent an email out saying there was a meeting on Keith Appleby’s boat about 4:30. I asked Keith if I could come, I had to go out for rest of day. Went to Bermi in a rush and it was just starting. Didn’t have time to contact any Narooma people .. sorry.
Present were:
Philip Boxall .. a member of a Tasmanian fishing family, now with DEWHA .. He is based in Tasmania and I think he said he was “in charge” of Commonwealth Marine Reserve system.
Martin Russel .. has been fishing for ‘years’. Now with DEHWA and he is the public face for East Coast system, he is based in Brisbane.
Also present were about 10 skippers and deckies from various Bermagui Charter boats, plus Keith Appleby, Ian Ford, as well as Paul Black, President Bermagui GFC.
Boxall and Russel had just completed a meeting with Commercial fishers, I don’t think they had any intention of having a meeting with Charter Boats/Rec people when they arrived in Bermagui that morning.
After the NSW Government effort with the Batemans Marine Park, what they had to say was depressingly familiar.
Best summarized by
• The “Batemans Area for further Assessment” was just not going to be a complete lockout. However the Area is set in cement. From north of Bawley Point to south of Bermagui, off Bunga Beach/Cuttagee? It starts 3nm. off the Coast and extends out about 90nm off the Coast.
• There WILL be total ‘no take’ zones, but these will be “designed to NOT interact with Charter Boats operators or Rec fishers AS FAR AS POSSIBLE”
• The Consultation process concludes late May 2010 (The end of this month !!!)
• The draft plan, including zoning, will be released early 2011
• This means that it will be up to the community to make representation about the ‘no take’ zones, rather than the Government having to PROVE that the “no take” zones are required. This is an important point as this was what happened with the Batemans Marine Park zoning draft plan.
• There will be a 3 months comment period.
• Finalisation by 2012. This is for the whole of Australia !!!
• The South West of Australia is more advanced in their process .. their draft will be out by August 2010.
• An fair amount of explanation of why it was necessary to have these areas .. none of which made ANY logical sense. We were spoken to as though we had never heard of a Marine Park, and I suspect because the Bermagui people had not experienced the zoning process in Batemans they were not quite as cynical as I was. I suspect that if the meeting was held in Narooma/Batemans Bay there would have been much more derision of some of their ‘explanatory’ statements.
• Perhaps this is why they have only held meetings in Eden, Merimbula, Bermagui and Ulladulla down here. Those are of course the Commercial fisher ‘centres’ so to speak. Because Port Stephens had seen the State Marine Park process those people (see description of Boxall and Russel by a charter skipper from P.S.) those people were far more cynical?
• A question re potential compensation .. this