Danielle Ryan and James Sherwood, Conservation Campaigners
Tag: marine sanctuaries
More parks the solution to dire environmental situation
The National Parks Association of NSW welcomes Commonwealth Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek’s commitment to protect a third of Australia’s land and the seas by 2030.
“Today’s release of the National State of the Environment Report confirms the dire condition of our natural landscapes, biodiversity and climate,” stated NPA President Dr Grahame Douglas.
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NSW Marine Protected Areas: Our Underwater National Parks
Sharnie Connell, Senior Campaigns Officer, National Parks Association of NSW
Many people are unaware that marine protected areas exist, or how they work. As the saying goes out of sight, out of mind. The value of national parks on land seems obvious, we currently have around 9% conservation area in terrestrial NSW but only 6% sanctuary in our NSW state waters.
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NSW Government to decimate marine protected areas
The National Parks Association of NSW (NPA) has expressed outrage at the recent announcement by the NSW Minister for Agriculture, Adam Marshall that vital sanctuary zones in Batemans Marine Park, including iconic Montague Island will be scrapped.
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Cultural Access to Aquatic Resources in NSW
Hayley Egan, Barefeet
There are many misconceptions surrounding cultural access to aquatic resources both in NSW and throughout Australia. Many people assume that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have unlimited access or no rules when it comes to harvesting resources. In NSW this couldn’t be further from the truth. There is no single set of guidelines, legislation or regulations to govern cultural access. Native Title over water in NSW has for the first time been formally acknowledged in determinations in 2019. The details of the access rights to those claimants are slowly filtering through. Currently in NSW waters Aboriginal Cultural Fishing is acknowledged as a fishery along with Commercial and Recreational Fisheries. Though unlike the other two there are no regulations to govern access rights for the sector. Since 2010 there have been Interim Access Arrangements, which have evolved slightly over the last nine years. However, these are not legally binding like regulations, and as a result there are a lot of grey areas in their interpretation. This has led to the community mistrusting the Department and being in the dark about their rights within the fishery.
Fight for our marine sanctuaries
Adele Pedder, Australian Society for Marine Conservation
The world’s oceans are facing increasing challenges with climate change, pollution and overfishing. In light of these challenges it is becoming increasingly important to set aside large areas of our ocean to restore some balance beneath the waves and allow marine ecosystems to function in their natural state. Globally more and more nations are relying on marine parks to give their parts of our blue planet a fighting chance.
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