After years of delays, the state government has finally released the draft NSW Mainland Marine Park Network Management Plan 2021-2031 for public comment.
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This is important, says Iain Watt, president of Econetwork Port Stephens and vice-president of Marine Parks Association, because "it is our opportunity to have a say on how our marine parks including the Port Stephens-Great Lakes Marine Park will be managed for the next 10 years".
He said there were no guarantees that NSW Marine Sanctuaries will be protected under the new draft management plan.
"We've had a series of articles in the Examiner, 'Beneath the Surface', extolling the wonders of the deep, but how do we protect it? The most effective and accepted method is with sanctuary zones," Mr Watt said.
"These are areas within marine parks that provide the highest level of biodiversity and ecological protection and where extraction activities are prohibited.
"They allow the plants and animals to grow to their maximum breeding size (keeping the big ones in the gene pool) and protecting key life-cycle stages (breeding, nursery, feeding etc.) for a range of interdependent species including fish.
"They provide important reference sites for long term research into climate change and fisheries and provide socio economic benefits though tourism, leisure, education, and social wellbeing. They also provide ecological insurance against fisheries and environmental management failure, and safeguard something for future generations."
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"World best practice and the Australian Marine Science Association (the peak body for marine science in Australia) recommends 'marine parks with 30 per cent sanctuary zone as the most effective and therefore the preferred design option'.
"However, only 6 per cent of NSW waters are protected through sanctuary zones and therefore provide very little effective conservation."
Mr Watt said that while the draft plan does not explicitly threaten sanctuary zones, nor does it put forward any meaningful actions to enhance the role of sanctuary zones over the next decade.
"This will be addressed separately in the Rules and Regulations for each individual park, which includes reviewing the multi-use zoning system. NSW legislation requires marine parks management plans to be reviewed every 10 years. Now, after 15 years, the proposed review heralds a 'new approach' which will be difficult to see how it will improve the management of marine parks."
The draft management plan and online survey are available at yoursay.marine.nsw.gov.au or people can make your their submissions.
Submissions close at 5pm on January 31.
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