Review could resolve mako ban

20 January 2010

BY AMI HUMPAGE

IMPLEMENTING a review into the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act would provide an immediate solution to the proposed ban on fishing for mako sharks, according to Member for South West Coast Denis Napthine.

Dr Napthine said former senior Commonwealth public servant Dr Allan Hawke recently completed a massive review of the EPBC Act for Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett and one of the clear recommendations was to review and amend Part 13 of the Act relating to migratory species “to allow the take of migratory species if it can be demonstrated that the take would not be detrimental to the survival of the species”.

Dr Napthine said this recommendation exactly described the situation with mako sharks in Australia.

“The proposed ban is only being implemented in Australia because of concerns in European waters about the low numbers of mako sharks and, under the current wording of the Federal EPBC Act, Australia is forced to follow suit despite no such concerns existing in our waters.

“However, when the Federal Government adopts the changes to Part 13 of the Act recommended by Dr Hawke, Australia will not have to implement a ban on fishing mako sharks.

“Therefore Minister Garrett should make the changes recommended and not proceed with the ban,” Dr Napthine said.

Federal Member for Wannon David Hawker said the Victorian recreational fishing industry alone believed the cost of the ban could remove $150 million from the state’s economy.

“Bait and tackle stores and charter operators have also estimated losses of tens of thousands of dollars, effectively putting them out of business if the ban goes ahead.

“Minister Garrett needs to put a halt to his plan to ban mako shark fishing from January 29. He should immediately commit to a genuine national consultation process involving both the recreational and commercial fishing sectors prior to implementing any type of ban. Only then will he start to understand the massive cost impact this will have on the fishing industry,” Mr Hawker said.

A spokesperson for Mr Garrett said the Government was aware of the potential for the listing of the mako shark to impact on recreational fishers and was continuing both to consult with fishers and look at ways to address those concerns.

“Under the EPBC Act, as it was written by the previous government, once a species is listed under the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) the Australian Government is obliged to list the species as a protected migratory species. There is no discretion.

“However, acknowledging the potential difficulties this may create for recreational fishers, the Minister has indicated listing of the three shark species as migratory species under the national environment law would be very unlikely to affect catch and release fishing. This is because catch and release is not likely to have a significant impact on populations of these shark species. As a result catch and release is very unlikely to be subject to enforcement action.

“The Government is continuing to discuss this issue with key groups and examine potential options to address the concerns that have been raised,” the spokesperson said.

• Mr Hawker’s petition against the ban is gaining great momentum and signatures from the south-west will be joined with those from throughout Australia and tabled in Parliament by the shadow minister Richard Colbeck in the first sitting week this year (the start February).

A spokesperson for Mr Hawker’s office said it is believed Sen Colbeck had more than 4000 signatures from across the country already and many more were expected.