outrage over marine park plans by Angler
ANGLERS are threatening to sell their boats and holiday homes, and walk away from the south, if plans to introduce a no-take zone between Sellicks and Maslin Beach go ahead.
More than 120 people attended a public meeting in Sellicks Beach last week - hosted by Finniss MP Michael Pengilly (Liberal) - to discuss the 45sq km zone, where fishing could be banned from 2012.
The zone, which forms part of the Encounter Marine Park, aims to protect sea grasses and birds, stretching 12.5 km north of Sellicks Beach and 6km out to sea.
Louise Massie, who owns a holiday home in Sellicks Beach, said she and her husband would sell up and “take our money away” from the local area if the no-take zones were approved.
“When we come here, which is only two or three times a year, my husband and our three sons always go fishing,” Mrs Massie, of Dernancourt, said.
“They might go out for a few hours and catch nothing, but they have fun doing it.
“If that is taken away from us, we’ll sell our house and stop coming.”
Over the next six months, the proposed no-take zones will be discussed by the Fleurieu Peninsula marine park advisory group and key stakeholders, such as tourism operators and conservationists.
If zoning is approved, the marine parks will be marked with GPS coordinates and anglers will be banned from removing or harming marine plants or animals in them.
Aldinga Beach fisherman Jack Gallagher said he would sell his boat and move away if the restrictions came into force.
“There are many other ways to protect this area and still allow recreational fishing,” said Mr Gallagher, who highlighted the effectiveness of bag/boat limits and seasonal bans.
Fellow fisherman David Hooper said small boat owners, who were forced to launch off the beach, would be crippled by the restrictions.
“There are no marinas nearby and it’s not safe to take small boats 6km out to sea,” said Mr Hooper, who has fished in the Sellicks Beach area for 16 years.
Aldinga Bay Trade and Tourism Association president Andrew Koukourou said fishing was a popular pastime for locals because there weren’t many other recreational activities available.
“We’ve only just had our second supermarket built, there’s no cinema, there’s limited sports, we have a beach and that’s about it,” said Mr Koukourou, who is the director of South Coast Century 21.
“We get a lot of holiday makers and while boating is not the only reason they are here, it is one of the few activities they have got.”
The draft marine park management plans will be released for statewide consultation in the second half of this year, with zoning to be finalised by 2012.
Environment Department chief executive Allan Holmes said a “detailed analysis” of social and economic impacts would be undertaken once the draft plans were developed.Read More ...
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