David Booth

Professor of Marine Ecology, UTS

Chief Scientist, Sydney Institute of Marine Science

You’d think from the rhetoric floating around debate on the validity of NSW marine parks of late that scientists were equivocal about their benefits. Some scientists have claimed that park establishment is politically driven, and there is no science behind them, and this view has apparently gotten the ear of the pollies.

Fisher groups often express concern regarding the usefulness of marine parks and claim they are locked out of prime fishing spots. In fact a pitiful 6.5% of our coastal area is part of no-take (sanctuary) zones, protected from all sorts of exploitation and human disturbance. But many will admit that fishing pressure has been responsible for the demise of key fished species in NSW (mulloway, black cod as examples), and giving such species a bit of a safe haven is a wise move

Worldwide, hundreds of scientific studies have confirmed the benefits of sanctuary areas to species diversity, growth and reproduction of marine species including targeted fishes. Some of the best of these have been conducted in NSW, but given the poor resourcing of NSW Marine Parks Authority, and lack of interest in funding such studies by fisher groups, it’s not surprising that we are lagging behind other States. But let’s not derail the development of our marine parks like Ronald Reagan hijacked management of the acid rain environmental disaster in North America in the 70s with cries of “not enough science”.

This week, over 50 PhD marine scientists in NSW have signed off on a consensus statement which supports the value of, and science behind, our marine parks and especially the no-take Sanctuary Zones they contain (see www.amsa.asn.au/state/nsw/index.php). It links to a list of over 250 scientific studies into marine parks and puts paid to notions of “no science”.

NSW has five marine bioregions as part of a national network, and we need at least one marine park in each. The one glaring omission at present is the Hawkesbury bioregion, surrounding Sydney. At the last election, Minister Macdonald declared “no new marine parks” but this must be overturned and at least one new marine park declared to help protect Sydney’s fragile and highly impacted coastal marine zone.

It’s now time to move ahead and embrace our marine parks as key tools in protecting marine biodiversity and enhancing fisheries for the future. They do need more support and more study, and if we do the rewards will be great for all sectors of the NSW community.