Scientific Justification 'flawed' Call To Ditch Marine Park

Newcastle Herald

Saturday September 29, 2007

By JACQUI JONES Port Stephens Reporter

UNIVERSITY of Canberra Emeritus Professor of Fisheries Robert Kearney is lobbying the NSW Premier's Department to annul NSW marine parks including the Port Stephens Great Lakes reserve.

The former NSW Fisheries Research Institute director said he reviewed the processes the State Government used in forming marine parks in NSW during his study of the Batemans Bay reserve.

Professor Kearney delivered his findings this month in an address in Canberra to the Australian Society for Fish Biology.

He said yesterday the findings were relevant to the Port Stephens Great Lakes marine park.

Professor Kearney believes the Government's cited scientific justification for marine parks is flawed.

"They are advocacy for the process rather than scientific assessment," he said.

"I've written to the Premier's Department asking for an annulment of the Batemans Bay marine park and an investigation of all parks."

Professor Kearney said he supported sound fisheries management but did not believe marine parks with areas zoned for different uses were warranted.

"Going around drawing lines on the water telling people those areas are protected is a lie," he said. "Closing the areas to fishing will do absolutely no good for the conservation of the species."

Other threats to marine areas such as pollution, siltation and introduced species were not addressed in marine park plans, he said.

A Premier's Department spokeswoman said yesterday the department had received Professor Kearney's correspondence.

She could not comment on what the response would be.

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