Features

Swirling kelp forests, colourful sponge beds, rocky
reefs, canyons and arches are some of the spectacular features of Victoria’s marine waters that will be protected if State parliament adopts the Environment Conservation Council (EEC)’s recommendations for 13 marine national parks and 11 marine sanctuaries.

We came very close to achieving this in June this year, when the Victorian State Government tabled legislation to establish a reduced ECC system of marine national parks. But the debate had barely begun when the Government withdrew the legislation and both major parties blamed each other for the failure.

It is not about whether we should have a comprehensive, adequate, representative and fully-protected marine national park system or not — both parties say that we must.

South East Regional Marine Plan

Work is underway on the preparation of the South East Regional Marine Plan (SERMP), which covers two million square kilometres of ocean off the coasts of Victoria, New South Wales, Tasmania and South Australia.

The plan, currently being prepared by the National Oceans Office, is the first of many that must be established under the Commonwealth Government’s Oceans Policy, and will be an attempt to integrate commercial and conservation interests within an ecosystem-based management framework.

Green groups are looking for SERMP to provide a commitment to and implementation of marine protected areas, a strengthening of management responsibilities that are binding on Commonwealth agencies, in particular fisheries, a move to ecosystem-based management for fisheries, and a strengthening of controls on offshore gas and petroleum exploration.

The deadlock has been caused by differing views that the Labor and Liberal parties have about a transitional funding process and budget for commercial fishers affected by the proposed parks. It is not about whether we should have a comprehensive, adequate, representative and fully-protected marine national park system or not — both parties say that we must.

The ECC was established in Victoria in 1997 to replace the Land Conservation Council, the government advisory body that six years earlier had begun the marine investigation process. By the time the ECC’s final recommendations were released in October 2000 there had been nine years of investigation and reporting, including six periods of formal public comment and 4500 submissions.

The ECC’s recommended system encompasses
6.2% of Victoria’s marine waters (600 square kilometres within 10,000 square kilometres). Currently less than 0.04% of Victoria’s marine waters is fully protected, compared with 15% of the state’s land surface.

The marine national parks and sanctuaries will be fully protected and reserved for:

· nature observation, scuba diving, snorkelling, surfing, swimming, boating, windsurfing and other non-extractive activities.

Commercial and recreational fishing will not be permitted within them, nor will other extractive or damaging uses such as aquaculture, exploration drilling, oil and gas extraction, dredging, or waste disposal.

The ECC also recommended that the remaining 93.8% of Victoria’s marine waters be managed sustainably as part of a Coastal Waters Reserve. This means that Victoria’s marine waters would be managed for multiple-use, with a network of fully-protected areas included, something akin to the Great Barrier Reef’s management (which has 4.6% ‘no-take’).

Support for the full implementation of the ECC’s proposed parks (not just the State Government’s preferred list) has been widespread across the community and includes green groups, major tourism organisations, local government, marine scientists and the dive industry.

Victoria will become the world leader in marine conservation if the ECC’s recommendations are adopted in full and will finally provide the protection that our marine environment so richly deserves.