Major marine stakeholders agree on urgent need for reform

The Wilderness Society WA Inc
Media Release
21 August 2008

Major WA marine stakeholders all agree that the Carpenter Labor Government has failed to deliver on its promise of regional marine planning for WA. At the last election the then Gallop Labor Government promised to ‘develop a comprehensive and integrated approach to the conservation and sustainable use of the marine environment through regional marine plans’.

A multi-stakeholder ‘Regional Marine Planning Stakeholder Group’ established by the Environment Minister reached a significant consensus on the framework for a marine planning system, but the State Government has failed to move forward.

The Wilderness Society’s Marine Co-ordinator, Dr Jill StJohn, said, “All attempts at reform were impeded by an Inter-Departmental Committee (IDC) charged with this task. Clearly the relevant Ministers have lacked the confidence and commitment to have their Directors ‘fully-seized’ with the intention of government policy.

“The IDC was required to provide advice on a replacement for the Court Government’s “New Horizons” Marine Park Policy in the context of a prospective Regional Marine Planning system. This new policy was not produced and the relevant Ministers again failed to see that it was.”

Conservation Council Director Piers Verstegen, said that, “Shark, demersal finfish and now rock lobster fisheries are in a very serious decline in Western Australia, due in part to past mismanagement of these fisheries. It is critical that proactive management strategies are now put in place to provide for sustainability under increasing pressures including climate change.

“A multi-sector marine planning process that provides for equitable resource sharing and includes a functional, representative system of fully protected areas is overdue.”

Graeme Stewart, from the WA Fishing Industry Council, said that, “All the marine stakeholders were looking for one thing, certainty. The commercial fishing industry needs to know that it can continue into the future with sufficient access to its resource base and not be crowded out by the increasing demands of other sectors.”

Frank Prokop, from Recfishwest, said that he, along with the other stakeholders, “Looked forward to the day when government agencies and the community could negotiate a future for WA’s State waters in a cooperative framework free from debilitating conflict that has characterized the marine reserve issue. The work and commitment of the State Marine Planning Stakeholder Group suggested that this may be possible given the political will.

“The government should be moving towards an ecosystem-based management approach which allows the key stakeholders to negotiate an agreed outcome.”

“We as Stakeholders commit to whichever party wins powers to work together towards the adoption of a marine planning policy that serves the best interests of the State”.