The NSW Government’s announcement this week allowing beach fishing in sanctuary (no-take) zones of marine parks flies in the face of sensible conservation of precious marine biodiversity. It is a warning…
Australia’s marine parks are all show, no substance, so why are conservation groups so supportive?
AAP Image/Dean Lewins
On land and in the sea, we’re losing sight of what nature conservation is about. We’ve become dangerously focused on protected areas, but rarely consider what they’re supposed to achieve. One result is…
Failing to reach a decision on protecting Antarctic waters doesn’t mean the process is over.
Dean Lewins/AAP
The annual meeting of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) wound up in Hobart on Thursday last week without declaring a system of marine protected areas (MPAs…
Competing proposals for the Ross Sea could give CCAMLR an excuse to shelve protected areas.
Jacques Descloitres/NASA
This week delegates from around the globe are gathered in Hobart for the annual meeting of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR, pronounced “camel-ar” to those…
The shrimp Lebbeus clarehanna is a new species collected at about 400 metres depth – it’s species like this new marine reserves will protect.
CSIRO
Recently, members of the fishing industry staged a protest about Australia’s new network of marine parks. But when Environment Minister Tony Burke announced the parks on July 11 2012, he noted the reserves…
New marine parks at both Commonwealth and state level pose many questions for users of the marine environment in Western Australia.
AAP/Splash Communications
While surfing recently in WA’s newly established Ngari Capes Marine Park, one of us was asked several questions by other surfers about the new marine protected areas.
These and other questions have been…
Sanctuary: marine parks can create new ways to prevent illegal fishing.
Mia Hoogenboom, ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University
Environment Minister Tony Burke announced the final proposed Commonwealth marine protected area (MPA) network last month. The network would be the largest in the world, covering more than a third of Commonwealth…
The new marine reserves will take in just a fraction of Australia’s massive ocean resources.
Carlos Duarte
Australia’s brand-new marine park proposal has great historic precedent. For hundreds of years, ocean managers have found that reducing fishing can repair fish stocks and benefit not just ocean species…
Reducing fishing in the Coral Sea could hugely benefit species. It’s up to the government to make sure it benefits fishers too.
Sam Ilic
Coral Sea protection is eminently doable – but the question is, will Australia effectively manage the process of creating the largest network of marine protected areas in world?
The creation of the largest…
Hard numbers: less than 1% of the world’s oceans are protected but marine scientists think 20% should be off-limits to fishing.
AAP/Lloyd Jones
As a marine scientist, I welcome Senator Burke’s brave decision today to roll out Australia’s marine park system. This puts us on a par with other leading nations like the US and UK who have established…
The announcement of a marine park network is unlikely to calm the worries of Great Barrier Reef conservation groups.
AAP/Greenpeace
Today’s announcement of a network of marine parks for Australia is a big step forward in marine conservation. However, major threats to one iconic marine area, the Great Barrier Reef, are land-based…
Networks of nature: a potato cod with striped cleaner wrasse at Osprey Reef, an area in the expanded marine reservations announced today.
Flickr/richard ling
Today’s announcement of a national network of marine parks is really a memorable day for Australian nature conservation.
The political rhetoric and self-congratulation associated with major events is…
The Coral Sea could soon become the world’s largest marine park.
babasteve
The release of the Coral Sea Commonwealth marine reserve proposal is a milestone achievement in marine protection.
The area proposed to be covered is larger than that of many small European nations. In…
