Wilderness Society hosts Newcastle whale watching cruise

This Saturday, the Wilderness Society is hosting a whale watching event off Newcastle, as part of a national campaign to secure strong conservation outcomes through the federal government’s marine bioregional planning process.

This process aims to establish a national network of marine reserves in Commonwealth waters, which begin 5 kilometres offshore and extend beyond Lord Howe and Norfolk Islands.

Speakers from The Wilderness Society’s Newcastle campaign centre will join community members on a whale watching cruise with local company Nova Cruises.

Who: The Wilderness Society Newcastle, Nova Cruises
Where: Off the coast of Newcastle
When: Saturday 6th August. Meet 1pm, Lee Wharf, Honeysuckle, for 1.30-4.30 pm, cruise
Why: The Wilderness Society Newcastle is working on securing strong marine reserves in Commonwealth waters in the ‘Lower East’ marine region.

This region stretches from Fraser Island to Bermagui on the south coast, and out to Lord Howe and Norfolk Islands. One potential area for marine reserves being considered by the federal government is an area offshore of Newcastle and Port Stephens.

“This is a great opportunity for the community to see some of nature’s most majestic creatures in our own backyard,” said Warrick Jordan, Campaign Manager at The Wilderness Society Newcastle.

“Many people don’t realise that the ocean off Newcastle contains some world-class conservation areas, with deep canyons that would swallow Mt Kosciusko, and that within a couple of hundred kilometres of our coast we have massive underwater volcanoes that could be part of a world-leading marine reserve network,” Warrick Jordan said.

“Novacastrians by nature love the ocean. By running events like this, we hope to make people more aware that we have world-class conservation icons in our oceans that are every bit as important as places like the Barrington Tops and the Blue Mountains,” Warrick Jordan said.

For information on the Marine Bioregional Planning Process, visit:
http://www.environment.gov.au/coasts/mbp/east/index.html
http://www.wilderness.org.au/nsw

Media Contact: Warrick Jordan, Campaign Manager, The Wilderness Society Newcastle, 0451 633 197,