Environment Group Calls For Marine Sanctuaries
Report Says Less Than One Percent of W.A.'s South West Coast Safe
Feb 24, 2009
International and Australian conservation organizations have combined to call on the Australian government to increase the level of protection for marine life off the southwest of Western Australia.
At the launch of a major report, and the simultaneous announcement of a new collaboration of environmental groups founded to protect Australian marine life, representatives of the action group Save Our Marine Life (SOML) asked state and federal governments to increase protection pointing out the abundance of life in the Western Australian waters overshadows that even of the Queensland tourist mecca the Great Barrier Reef.
SOML recommended the government increase the number of marine sanctuaries from the present one percent to a total of twenty-five percent of the marine coast at the Feb. 23, 2009 launch in the West Australian capital of Perth of the "Protecting Western Australia’s Big Blue Backyard" report. The study found that nine out of ten marine species living in the waters off Australia's south west coast are found nowhere else on Earth.
Critically Important
Michelle Grady from the Pew Environment Group who was also present at the launch of the report said less than one percent of these waters are currently protected, according to a SOML news release.
“Protection of the waters off the southern half of Western Australia is critically important to the economic development of the state and the nation. Less than 1% of this large and important region is protected even though up to 90% of its marine species are unique to these waters.”
Secure Fishing Industry
Professor Jessica Meeuwig from the Centre for Marine Futures at the University of Western Australia also spoke at the launch of the report arguing that the future of the local fishing industry needed to be secured: “Many economically important marine species, such as rock lobster, dhufish and baldchin groper are under threat. Large marine sanctuaries are critical to maintaining the health of the marine environment, helping fish stocks recover, and securing the future of commercial and recreational fishing in Western Australia.”
Save Our Marine Life
The launch of Save our Marine Life, is an unprecedented new collaboration of Australian and international conservation groups which include; the Conservation Council of Western Australia; Australian Conservation Foundation; The Wilderness Society; WWF Australia; Australian Marine Conservation Society; The Nature Conservancy and the Pew Environment Group.
Polls Show Support
The SOML release said the call for increased protection zones had public support with polls conducted by Essential Research in late 2008 finding that seventy-five percent of West Australians believed that more marine protection was necessary.
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