The Minister for Primary Industries, Katrina Hodgkinson, has called for submissions from all interested parties regarding the protection of grey nurse sharks for a period of three months, closing on Friday, August 26, 2011.
This is a vast improvement on the actions of the previous Labor Govt who brought in fishing restrictions at Fish Rock and Green Island with minimal public consultation and faulty research.
Intense lobbying by the local member Andrew Stoner and the Community Action for Fish Rock group forced the previous govt to accept public submissions, albeit for only one extra week and to water down their proposed regulations.
These regulations have since been revoked by the current Minister.
The Greens and some environmental groups have already begun their campaign of hysteria and misinformation.
Typical are statements recently made by Greens MP and environment spokesperson Cate Faehrmann that “every single death of a grey nurse is significant for the survival of the species”.
Official research figures into the population of grey nurse sharks on the East Coast show that their numbers have TRIPLED in only six years.
I would suggest that tripling the numbers in six years proves that existing protection measures are working and that, rather than struggling for survival, the grey nurse is actually thriving.
Another misleading statement attributed to Ms Faehrmann is that accidental hooking due to fishing activity causes a significant number of deaths.
NSW Fisheries conduct autopsies on all dead grey nurse sharks they can get their hands and, of the twelve autopsies performed last year, only one shark died as a direct result of hook injury. What happened to the other eleven?
Another tactic being used by the Greens is in attempting to add weight to their argument they are suggesting that, when you fish in the near vicinity of grey nurse, you may also hook a black cod.
In addition to this being a bit of a stretch, I would remind everyone that to accidently hook a grey nurse or a black cod or any other protected species is not against the law. It is only against the law to keep them.
We urge anybody who has an opinion or evidence relating to the grey nurse, especially at Fish Rock, to lodge a submission showing the Govt that recreational fishing has no effect on the long-term viability of the species. Go to http://dpi.nsw.gov.au/fisheries
We will be holding information sessions during the next four to six weeks.
CAFR holds regular meetings and, if you would like to attend,email fishrock@dodo.com.au to get times and venue.
Chris Wallis
Publicity Officer
Community Action for Fish Rock
