SA Marine Parks Bill

SA Marine Protected Area's Page

Check here for updates on the Marine Parks Bill and South Australian MPA news.

Update January 2008: The Department has put out the call for nominations for the Marine Parks Council.

The following is an xcerpt from the Govt website http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/coasts/marineparks.html

The Government of South Australia is now inviting expressions of interest from members of the public for membership of the Marine Parks Council of South Australia (see advertisement (available in site). The Council will play an important role in the development and management of South Australia's marine parks by providing independent advice to the Minister for Environment and Conservation, Hon Gail Gago MLC on a range of environmental, economic and social issues relating to the parks. The Council will consist of 10 members appointed by the Governor, on the nomination of the Minister, and the Chief Executive of DEH (or his/her nominee) as an ex officio member. Of the 10 members:* 1 must be a person who has knowledge of, or experience in, the field of commercial fishing; * 1 must be a person who has knowledge of, or experience in, the field of aquaculture; * 1 must be a person who has knowledge of, or experience in, the field of recreational fishing; * 3 must be persons who have knowledge of, or experience in, the field of marine conservation; * 2 must be persons who have qualifications or experience in a field of science that is relevant to the marine environment; * 1 must be a person who has extensive involvement in community affairs; and * 1 must be a person who has extensive knowledge of indigenous culture, especially in connection with the marine environment.

Each person appointed to the Council must be a person who can demonstrate knowledge of, or an interest in, the requirements necessary to manage the marine environment in a responsible manner. Expressions of interest for the Council close on Friday, 25 January 2008 and should be sent to: Mr Chris Thomas A/Manager, Coast and Marine Conservation Department for Environment and Heritage GPO Box 1047 Adelaide SA 5001 For more information on the Council please refer to our Marine Parks Council of South Australia Information Sheet (100Kb PDF).

Update November 2007: The Marine Parks Bill has passed through both houses of Parliament with some minor amendments. A partnership between the commercial fishing industry and environmental groups lobbying MP's from both sides of the house lead to some amendments providing for greater certainty for both industry and environmental outcomes. This spirit of co-operation between fishing industry groups and environmental groups is very positive and gives us hope that the SA Marine Parks process can result in a comprehensive system of marine protected areas that can be embraced by, and have clear benefits for, fishers - both recreational and commercial, environmentalists and of course all other marine users.

FFC looks forward to being involved in the upcoming processes of consultation on Marine Park outer boundaries and then within park area zoning (including the placement of no fishing areas) and other aspects of management plans.

An FFC Information sheet on Marine Parks and recreational fishing in SA is under development as part of out Community Based Sustainable Recreational Fishing Education Project and will be available very soon.

Update August 2007: The Marine Parks Bill has been tabled and is likely to be debated in parliament next month. The Department For the Environment and Heritage has sent a mail out to stakeholders providing background on the process. Download and read the letter to stakeholders (Word doc.)

An article has also been written for Southern Fisheries Magazine summarising background and frequently asked questions regarding the SA Marine Parks Process. To read the article click here (pdf.)

The letter to stakeholders identifies the major changes to Revised Bill tabled in parliament from the Draft Marine Parks Bill that was released for public comment as:

incorporating resilience to climate change into the objects of the Bill;
including a consultation period on marine park boundaries of not less than six weeks;
legislating the need to consult with a representative of all signatories to an Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA) or Native Title claim when preparing marine park management plans;
including a three year time-frame to develop marine park management plans once the boundaries are proclaimed; and
increasing the minimum public consultation period on marine park management plans, from 28 days to six weeks.

And lists the next steps in the process as:

Finalise the Marine Parks Act
Release marine park boundaries for public comment
Establish marine park consultative committees
Seek community input to develop marine park management plans
Prepare draft marine park management plans (including zoning maps) for public comment
Implement marine park management plans
Manage any displaced commercial fishing and/or aquaculture effort
Ongoing management of marine parks

Update June 2007: Budget announcement of funding for Marine Parks program, indications that the Marine Parks Bill may actually be tabled in parliament soon.

- Excerpt from press release by Hon KEVIN FOLEY MP Deputy Premier Treasurer Minister for Industry and Trade Minister for Federal/State Relations:

"An investment of $4.152 million over the next four years to develop 19 new marine parks across State waters is the centerpiece of the Rann Government’s commitment to conservation in this year’s State Budget. Treasurer Kevin Foley says $1 million from this allocation will be spent in 2007-08, bringing total marine park spending to $3 million next financial year. "

Meanwhile Minister Gail Gago (environment Minister) has said in speeches that the Marine Parks bill will "soon" be tabled in parliament. The Minister has expressed concern about the bill traversing the upper house and there are concerns that the mining and commercial fishing lobby will influence opposition and independent MP's to 'water down' the protection afforded by the legislation. This despite clear and worrying major concessions already having been given to these powerful interest groups in the draft legislation.

The process for the introduction of SA's future Marine Parks is expected to be: 1. passing of Marine Parks Bill through parliament, 2. declaration of Encounter Marine Park, 3. declaration of boundaries for the other 18 Marine Parks (government target is to have these in place by 2010) 4. consultation and zoning of marine parks.

Fishers For Conservation will be engaging in all 4 of the above stages, educating, supporting and representing fishers with a genuine interest in marine protection and fishing for the future.

Main themes for FFC engagement are likely to include:

Ensuring that enough of the critical habitats that support biodiversity and hence fisheries are protected from destructive processes such as indiscriminate commercial net and trawl fishing.

Ensuring that equitable and adequate access to recreational fishing opportunities is allowed for in the zoning, in particular for shore based and small boat fishers without access to deep water fishing opportunities (no repeats of the Victor Harbor inshore sanctuary zoning debacle), while also striking the right balance of sanctuary zones covering critical habitat, including nursery and spawning grounds, to protect and enhance marine ecosystem health, biological diversity and fishing.

Update May 2007: No sign of the introduction of the Marine parks bill into parliament. No indication of the extent to which public submissions on the draft legislation will be taken into account in any bill tabled. A frustrated fishing industry, department and public waiting to help ensure sustainable fishing and healthy marine environments into the future.

Below: information on the SA marine parks bill circa. November 2006

The DEH deadline for written public submissions was 30th Nov 2006, the bill will not be considered by parliament until the next sitting well into the new year. Below is background regarding the SA marine parks bill.

Guide to writing a submission

Download FFC Submission regarding the marine parks bill (Word format)

Will this legislation succeed in providing a secure future for our marine environment and the people who enjoy it? What's the legeslation all about? Read this summary (.pdf format 427 kb) prepared by CCSA. Have your say - read our guide to making a submission on the Draft Bill. Or download a printable version (32kb Word format).

Draft Marine Parks Bill 2006 - Launch and background information

On 1 September 2006, the Minister for Environment and Conservation, Hon Gail Gago MLC, formally released the draft Marine Parks Bill 2006 for public consultation. The draft Marine Parks Bill provides a legislative framework for the dedication, zoning and management of South Australia's marine parks. The State Government has committed to developing 19 new marine parks within State waters by 2010. In conjunction with the draft Marine Parks Bill, the Department for Environment and Heritage (DEH) has developed a range of supporting materials including explanatory notes, an overview paper and information on the management of any displaced commercial fishing and aquaculture effort, which are available to download:

Download Draft Marine Parks Bill 2006 (400Kb PDF)
Download Explanatory Notes (100Kb PDF)
Download Overview Paper (50Kb PDF)
Download paper on Marine Parks and Commercial Fishing (50Kb PDF)
Download paper on Marine Parks and Aquaculture (50Kb PDF)

For more information on the draft Marine Parks Bill and the supporting information, please refer to the Legislation page.

Have your say!

The South Australian Government is now inviting all members of the community to have their say on the draft Marine Parks Bill 2006. Your views and comments are important to us and you are encouraged to make a written submission. A Submission Form (50Kb PDF) is available. Alternatively, you can submit your written comments to DEH via mail (reply paid - no stamp required), fax or e-mail as follows:

Draft Marine Parks Bill 2006 Submissions
Coast and Marine Conservation Branch
Department for Environment and Heritage
Reply Paid 1047
Adelaide SA 5001
Australia

Fax: (61 8) 8124 4920
E-mail: marineDEH@saugov.sa.gov.au

Submissions must be received by 30th November 2006

Guide to writing a submission regarding the Draft Marine Parks Bill

DEH have prepared a submission form for use by the public but it is not necessary to use this, comments will be accepted in any format. Download Draft Marine Parks Bill Submission Form (50Kb PDF).

It is important to note that the Draft Bill does not refer to the location of proposed marine parks or the zoning within them, you will have your chance to have your say on this down the track but feel free to make comments at this stage if you like.

Some hints when writing a submission:

Explain who you are, where you live and what your main interests regarding the Marine Parks Bill are. Eg. “I am a recreational fisher with .. years experience fishing the States’ waters and especially the …. area where I live. I am concerned that the Draft Marine Parks Bill will not provide adequate protection for fish stocks and other marine life from threats such as of unsustainable commercial fishing and mining.”
Outline what you like about the Marine Parks Bill – eg. Point out that you support marine conservation initiatives and understand that spatial management of the marine environment is one of the measures needed as part of ecologically based management of the marine environment to ensure biodiversity conservation and the opportunity for fishing for future generations.
Make recommendations regarding what can be done to improve the Draft Bill (refer to the FFC recommendations below for some ideas – don’t forget to mention Recreation Zones).
State that you would like to be kept up to date on future developments regarding Marine Parks and marine conservation

FFC recommends that you address some or all of the following points when writing your submission:

Recreation Zones:
The draft legislation allows for only 5 zonings - general use, habitat protection, sanctuary, restricted access and special purpose (see the draft encounter marine park for details of the activities currently envisaged for each zone). This allows no provision for recreation zones allowing recreational pursuits without commercial exploitation. Recreation zones must be an option for marine park planners to provide increased conservation outcomes without excessively restricting access to the public for recreational purposes (including recreational fishing). Elsewhere such as in NSW Recreational Fishing Havens (RFH’s) excluding commercial fishing have proven popular, economically valuable and have delivered biodiversity conservation outcomes. SA’s Marine Parks need provision for similar commercial activity free areas. For more details on the need for recreation zones in Marine Park planning read here.

Marine Park Zoning:
The zoning arrangements for SA’s marine parks are not adequately addressed in the legislation leaving too much up to the government of the day. The legislation outlines the names of the 5 zones that will be included in SA marine parks without giving any indication of what they will mean in practical terms or what they are supposed to achieve. The purpose and activities allowed in each management zone must be included in the legislation to give certainty to marine users and to ensure that future governments do not erode protection. Under the proposed Bill, all the zones (multiple-use) will have the same set of objectives, meaning that there will be no legislative rationale for what is permitted in each zone. The Bill needs to be amended so that the types of management zones and the objects of each of the zones are defined.

Lack of an independent advisory group:
The Bill does not establish an independent advisory committee - such a committee is required to ensure conservation outcomes independent of the political whims of the day. Committees like the Marine Advisory Committee or stakeholder reference groups do not have the permanence or independence of a statutory committee. Such a committee would have to permanence and autonomy to make decisions based on scientific evidence, conservation outcomes and the public good and not based on short-term vote buying or industry party campaign contributions.

Lack of certainty regarding enforcement:
The bill provides many options for who will enforce Marine Park regulations and a framework for enforcement and dispute resolution. Certainty must be provided within the bill regarding the provision of adequate funding and resources for effective education and enforcement of Marine Park regulations. Are we legislating for a system of ‘paper parks’ that will be ignored by commercial fishers and others?

Community nomination process:
The Bill makes noises about community nominations of Parks and DEH staff assure that there is provision for community nominations. Reading the fine print this process will only be initiated if the Minister of the day feels like it, and there is no established process or timeline for assessment of any community nominations should they ever actually be called for. An amendment to establish a statutory process for dealing with community nominations of Marine Parks is required.

Summary:

Recreation zones must be an option for marine park planners to provide increased conservation outcomes without excessively restricting access to the public for recreational purposes (including recreational fishing).

The purpose and activities allowed in each management zone must be included in the legislation.

The Bill needs to be amended so that the types of management zones and the objects of each of the zones are defined.

The Bill does not establish an independent advisory committee - such a committee is required to ensure conservation outcomes independent of the political whims of the day.

Certainty must be provided within the Bill regarding the provision of adequate funding and resources for effective education and enforcement of Marine Park regulations.

An amendment to establish a statutory process for dealing with community nominations of Marine Parks is required.

The Draft Legislation and the need for Recreation Zones

S.A.'s Marine Parks draft legislation has been released

Having had time to read the Draft Marine Parks bill Fishers For Conservation has concerns that an opportunity for the general community, and in particular recreational fishers, to take stewardship of our marine parks could be being overlooked. The draft bill leaves too much up to regulations yet to be presented and fails to outline in law the actual purpose or rules that will be applied to the zones within our 'multiple use' marine parks.

Importantly there is no provision for recreation zones that allow only non commercial activities. Such recreation zones would have many benefits including:

Recreation Zones would be the ideal way to buffer Sanctuary (no extractive use) zones from commercial impacts - current proposed zoning allows long line boats to spend all day circling sanctuary zones that are likely to be too small to allow for protection of many fish species.
Recreation Zones would benefit local and state tourism and recreation related economy, the area lost to commercial fishing can be compensated for using the detailed displaced effort compensation plan that DEH have already released. Where is the plan/document outlining how MPA's will address displaced recreational effort?
Recreation Zones will have considerable conservation value, by removing commercial impacts from areas they will become the second most protected large zones within our marine parks and significantly increase the conservation value of Marine Parks. In NSW after the introduction of RFH's (Recreational Fishing Havens), where commercial effort has been removed by a rec fishing licence funded commercial licence buyback, fishers are reporting vastly improved catches and observing increased species diversity.
The addition of Recreation Zones to the current zonings allowed for in the Marine Parks bill is the incentive that recreational fishers need to take intellectual ownership of our marine parks. Zones for recreational pursuits only will be the reward and the compensation for displaced effort required to bring all of the recreational fishing community behind the much needed marine conservation initiative that MPA's are.
Recreation Zones are not just for rec fishers, these zones will be areas where all who love our marine environment can enjoy recreational pursuits without direct impacts from commercial operations.
Recreation Zones will provide opportunities for research into the impact of recreational fishing and will allow for areas with fishing regulations that may vary from the general rules such as catch and release only areas, seasonal spatial general or species fishing closures, reduced bag limits or tackle restrictions. In short Recreation Zones will be designed to maximise the economic and social benefits of recreational fishing while minimising the impact on Marine Park areas.

Recreation Zones will be appropriate to buffer sanctuary zones and for areas adjacent to population creatures or with a long history of recreational use.

Upgrading some of the area that would be zoned 'habitat protection' under the current thinking would provide tangible conservation value for our Marine Packs and real economic and social benefits to the community. Can we afford to enshrine in law a zoning framework that does not allow for recreation only areas within our Marine Parks?

So get along to your local Marine Parks information session and let your support for recreation zones be known and write a submission - let your voice be heard.