Page 3583 - Week 11 - Thursday, 16 November 2006
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The demise of many family-run fishing operations has damaged the economies of many coastal communities as the profits and wages from the local fishing fleets disappear. I can see no evidence that this market-driven, hands-off approach to fishing quota allocation has worked for either the industry or the environment.
With Eric Abetz as the current fisheries minister, I do not hold out much hope for any social or ecologically driven changes. I would be only too happy to be proven wrong, of course. Perhaps the minister responsible for woodchipping native forests and disenfranchising non-Liberal voters before the next federal election will change his spots and amaze us all.
In 2005 the total allowable commercial abalone catch was reduced from 230 to 130 tonnes. In 2006 the total allowable commercial catch was reduced again, to 125 tonnes. At the same time New South Wales also reduced the recreational bag limit for abalone to two per person. Before that, it was 10. That is a massive reduction. It highlights the gravity of the problem which has reduced abalone numbers to such critical levels. Other states have experienced similar declines. The movement of illegally caught abalone meat across state boundaries means that interstate cooperation is essential, and no state is immune from the problem, including an inland one like ours.
Abalone numbers have declined drastically under the pressure of overfishing, much of it illegal, and the effects of the perkinsus parasite. Fortunately, this decline has finally generated a coordinated legislative response. This bill is overdue, but I appreciate that intergovernmental agreements take time to crystallise into legislation.
Couching the offence provisions in this bill in the language of drug trafficking is a novel approach, but I appreciate the reasoning laid out in the minister’s presentation speech. I agree that there are many similarities between the market in illegal drugs and the illegal trade in animal products. Trafficking in animal species can have seriously detrimental effects on the wellbeing of that species, as well as flow-through detrimental effects throughout the food chain.
As the greediest predator and through our self-enhancing activities, humans bear responsibility for the good stewardship of the planet’s life support systems. Basically, if humans do not do it, no-one and nothing else will. The meek may inherit the earth, but what sort of dysfunctional and barren wasteland will it be if the aggressive, rich and selfish continue to have control, leaving behind the planet as they head off and look for another life-supporting planet after this one is ruined? We should be taking measures to protect the integrity of the planet’s life support systems, regardless of whether or not they are a tradable commodity. Trading in illegally harvested and depleted species is not a victimless crime. It is a serious offence which carries with it a high degree of moral turpitude, and it should be treated as such.
I hope this bill is one of many initiatives to protect dwindling marine stocks. The ACT can play its part in exploring new legislative and cultural initiatives to protect and raise public awareness of the beauty and intrinsic value of marine environments.
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