Media
Release
Coral Sea Story Needs
Balance
Monday
27 April 2009
Regional peak environment body, the Cairns and Far North Environment
Centre (CAFNEC), is requesting a voice at this Wednesday’s public
meeting to discuss fishing issues related to the Coral Sea Heritage
Park proposal. CAFNEC has been refused the opportunity to put the case
for protecting the Coral Sea to the concerned fishing public attending
the forthcoming public meeting in Cairns.
As the peak regional conservation
organisation, CAFNEC feels it is important to ensure the community is
well informed about this proposal and the intentions behind it. CAFNEC
is concerned that this will not occur if we are not permitted to put
our case forward.
CAFNEC acknowledges the meeting organisers’ right to decide who will
and will not speak at the public meeting. However, CAFNEC firmly
believes it is important for the public at large to know that we are
very keen to talk to the whole community about the many benefits of
protecting our remote and spectacular Coral Sea, an area also rich in
maritime and military history.
At around one million square kilometres, a no-take reserve of the size
proposed for the Coral Sea would form the world's largest marine
protected area, providing a safe haven for globally threatened species.
A Coral Sea Heritage Park will help secure a sustainable future for
marine tourism and fishing operations along Australia’s tropical east
coast.
99.9% of the world's oceans are open to fishing and these have been
degraded by overfishing, pollution and now face threats posed by global
warming. The Coral Sea provides critical habitat of many endangered
marine species and is one of the few places on Earth where large tuna,
billfish and sharks have not been severely depleted.
CAFNEC is greatly concerned that the public will not have the benefit
of hearing the whole story about the proposal, and that rumours and
speculation will be passed off to the public as fact. Serious
misconceptions about the proposal and its implications for the fishing
public abound and CAFNEC believes it vital that the issue be discussed
in a balanced and informed manner.
For further information: www.cafnec.org.au
