Many grave injustices of the past have one thing in common… they were defeated by a growing education of the people, and pressure for change. One of those injustices is occurring right now in our waters.

In 2009, under the former minister Peter Garett, licenses as part of the East Coast Inshore Fin-fish Fishery (ECIFF) were approved, allowing 200 commercial gill-net vessels to target sharks INSIDE the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and World Heritage Area. 600 tonnes of shark is removed legally each year, the meat sold for cheap fish and chips etc, and the valuable fins contribute to export markets for Asian delicacy’s. Meanwhile, research shows populations of some species to be down by as much as 97% on the GBR, and decreasing annually. The by-catch and target catch of the fishery includes a number of protected and critically endangered species, and majority of the target species are yet to be studied, meaning we have no idea what this level of fishing is doing to their populations. This fishery is potentially threatening to the entire ecosystem with effects already being witnessed. Sharks are apex predators at the top of the food chain, incredibly slow growing, and having very few young. There is no evidence to show the GBR will survive this mass extraction of sharks…

The fate of the oceans should be in the hands of those who know and respect the equilibrium they require to function… and now they can be… Have your say, put in your submission… send an email to sustainablefisheries@environment.gov.au, or visit my website for more information, or to send a letter already written up for you, http://elements5.blogspot.com/ Submissions close October 21st, our reaction… is their only hope.

by Madi Pip Stewart

http://elements5.blogspot.com/
Videos by Madi: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8kEPf94Yvo