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NSW marine parks to be reviewed

Marine parks in NSW will be reviewed and bans on recreational fishing in most marine sanctuaries will be lifted as part of sweeping reviews by the state government.

According to the SMH, Primary Industries minister, Katrina Hodgkinson, said she wanted to move past all the politics talk, with both the oppostion and NSW Greens accusing the government of pandering to the Shooters and Fishers Party.

"There has been a lot of criticism in the past that marine parks were only established for political purposes," she said. "We want to get past the politics."

The reviews signify a new approach to fisheries management and follow an audit of marine parks by University of Queensland professor, Bob Beeton.

As a result of the audit, a Marine Expert Knowledge Panel has been set up to consider the science of marine park establishment and their socio-economic impacts.

As part of the reviews, current bans on line-fishing from land within all sanctuary zones excluding Burrewarra Point in Batemans marine park, will be immediately lifted.

According to Hodgkinson the fishing bans were lifted because Beeton's research found that the fishing activity had "minimal impact."

However, SMH reports, the NSW Greens disagree. "The existing bans on recreational fishing on some beaches and headlands exist for a reason, and that's because they do seriously affect the fish species that reside there," said Greens MP, Cate Faehrmann.


 

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