Little Penguins (Eudyptula minor)

commonly called ‘fairy penguins‘ due to their small fairy-like size

Arrive ashore after feeding on ‘pelagic’ fish in Bass Strait in southern Australia

 

‘Little Penguins‘, marine birds native to Australia and New Zealand, every day consume about their body weight (~1.2kg).  Their prime food sources are small marine pelagic fish (76%) and squid (24%).    [Source:  ^http://www.graniteisland.com.au/pdf/parks_pdfs_little_penguins.pdf]

Given that the Australian breeding population across coastal southern Australia is estimated to be up to 500,000 individuals (Ross et al.1995), the Australian Little Penguin’s annual dependency on marine pelagic fish would amass over 450,000 kgs.  (Calculation:  500,000 penguins  *  1.2kg each * 76% = 456,000 kg of pelagic fish).

Their numbers are healthy but how vulnerable are they to pelagic overfishing?

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Australia’s industrial exploitation of Nature

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“Australia has the worst mammal extinction rate in the world.  The destruction and fragmentation of habitat, particularly as a result of clearance of vegetation for agriculture, and the impact of feral animals and invasive weeds has had a substantial impact on our biodiversity. 

Altogether, 18 mammal species have become extinct since the arrival of European settlers a little more than 200 years ago. Twenty percent of our remaining mammal species are threatened with extinction.”

[Australian Wildlife Conservancy,^http://www.australianwildlife.org/wildlife-and-ecosystems/australias-biodiversity-crisis.aspx]

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Australia’s states of Tasmania and Queensland, with their renowned parochial politics, hold Australia’s unenviable reputation for the worst industrial exploitation of Nature and  ecological destruction.

In Queensland the extent of recent land clearing is more than 425 000 hectares per year.  Between September 2001 and August 2003, approximately 1 051 000 hectares of
woody vegetation was cleared (Government of Queensland, 2005). If Queensland were a country, it would rank 9th worst in the world in terms of land clearing.  [^CSIRO]

In Tasmania, less than 20% of the original rainforest is left, and the ancient Styx Valley is being clearfelled and incinerated by Forestry Tasmania for loss-making woodchips at the rate of 300 to 600 hectares a year.  [^The Wilderness Society]   Many wild river valleys have been flooded by damned hydro, and vast landscapes scarred by mining and the groundwater toxins and tannins they leave behind. Industrial scale ecological destruction on an industrial scale still continues with parochial government’s short term profit myopia.

Tasmanian politics has a prejudiced record of giving industrialists free reign to plunder the environment, branded ‘primary industry‘:

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Tasmania’s ‘Primary Industry’ legacy

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• Since 1803 when the whaling ship Albion took three whales at Great Oyster Bay, colonists started a whaling and fur seal industry based on the Derwent River as well as on Bruny Island and up the east coast of Tasmania to Spring Bay (Triabunna) and Bicheno
• Convict slave labour from 1803 on the Derwent River was put to work deforesting the surrounding countryside
• Convict ‘Piners’ from 1819 who ransacked the extremely rare (endemic) Huon Pine from forests near Macquarie Harbour
• Since 1895, damming of rivers for hydro power and the flooding of many rivers and notably Lake Pedder in 1972 under the Great Lake Scheme, when the Hydro-Electric Commission became an industrial power unto its own from 1929 through to 1998
• Mining since 1820 for coal, tin, copper, gold, lead, zinc, silver and nickel – leaving scarred moonscapes around Mount Lyell, Zeehan, Savage River, Mount Bischoff, along the Ringarooma Valley, Fingal Valley, Beaconsfield and elsewhere.
• Since 1916, the construction of industrial and polluting smelters such as Amalgamated Zinc Company, then in 1921 the Nyrstar Hobart Smelter on the Derwent River, and since 1955 the Bell Bay aluminium smelter on the Tamar River
• The industrial deforestation of Tasmanian forests since convict times, accelerating with the advent of steam and rail from the 1850s.  By 1996, 43% of Tasmania’s original wet
  Eucalyptus forest had been logged and still 64.5% remain open for logging including Eucalyptus regnans —the world’s tallest hardwood trees, many of which are over 400 years old. [Rainforest Action Network, p.8]
• The recent establishment of industrial pulp and timber producer Ta Ann south of Hobart and the current proposed Gunns’ pulp mill which collectively threaten to woodchip most of Tasmania’s remaining unprotected native forests.  The approval process has been plagued by political abuse of due process and special deals for Gunns, lacking independent scrutiny or community support.

Map of 19th Century whaling bases on Tasmania’s coastline

Spring Bay was part of that exploitative legacy

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So what has this disgraceful legacy got to do with Little Penguins arriving ashore after feeding on pelagic fish in Bass Strait?

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Greedy ‘Seafish Tasmania’ wants Bass Strait ecology

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Tasmanian-based industrial fishing corporation, SeaFish Tasmania, is set to double its annual fishing catch of pelagic marine fish in Bass Strait from August 2012 from 5,000 tonnes to 10,600 tonnes.  The problem is that such a massive quota risks jeopardising the sustainability of the fish populations and the dependent marine species that depend upon them.

Pelagic marine fish live near the surface of the water and range in size from small coastal forage fish like small herrings and sardines to large apex predator oceanic fishes like Southern Bluefin Tuna and oceanic sharks.  Also feeding on pelagic fish are Little Penguins and Australia Fur Seals.   Pelagic fish habitat stretches from inshore waters to offshore over the Australian Continental Shelf and variable continental slope waters at depths from the surface down to about 500 metres.

Pelagic Pacific Jack Mackerel swim in schools near the sea surface

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Since 2000 Seafish Tasmania, based on Tasmania’s east coast at Spring Bay (Triabunna), has been the dominant Tasmanian fishing corporation targeting the Small Pelagics Fishery in southern Australian waters.

To date, Seafish Tasmania has relied upon its own purse seine trawler, the 800 tonne ‘Ellidi’ as well as two smaller contract vessels, to trawl for pelagic fish on the Continental Shelf off Tasmania.  At its Triabunna factory, Seafish Tasmania converts its pelagic fish catches into a range of frozen seafood products for human consumption.both for domestic and export markets.

Seafish Tasmania also produces frozen Redbait specifically for the commercial Long-Line Fishing industry in Indonesia, the Pacific and Indian oceans.

Long Line Fishing is indiscriminate

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But Long line Fishing is cruel and indiscriminate.  It is criticized worldwide for the merciless death of species such as sharks, turtles and seabirds, all caught unwanted as by-catch.

Trapped Humpback whale

Caught in a Long Line Fishing net off Tonga in the Pacific in 2009

 

Seafish Tasmania targets the following pelagic marine fish species in Australia’s southern Small Pelagic Fishery – Eastern sub-area for its chosen seafood markets:

• Jack Mackerel
• Blue Mackerel
• Redbait

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However, this Small Pelagic Fishery (including eastern Bass Strait) provides a marine habitat to many diverse species of pelagic fish, which raises the question of the impact of non-targeted fish being caught as unwanted ‘bycatch‘?

Bass Strait lies between the Victorian coastline and the island of Tasmania, and the targeted Small Pelagics Fishery stretches eastward into the Tasman Sea.  Its pelagic marine fish typically comprise Pilchards, Barracuda, Common Jack Mackerel (Trachurus declivis), Blue Mackerel (Scomber australasicus),  Redbait (Emmelichthys nitidus), and Yellowtail Scad (Trachurus novaezelandiae).  These attracts larger predators such as shark species preferring shallower depths such as Mako Sharks (Isurus oxyrinchus), Blue Sharks (Prionace glauca) and the Great White Shark (Carcharodon carcharias) which is listed by CITES as a protected species and similarly classified by the IUCN has having a ‘Vulnerable‘ status’.

But back in 1995, the marine health of Bass Strait was put into question when a 20-nautical-mile slick of dead pilchards was discovered off Devonport. The slick was thought to be caused by a mysterious deadly virus or toxin.

Tens of millions of pilchards were found floating dead in waters from Western Australia to Victoria.  A merchant seaman had said that his cargo ship had sailed through 20 nautical miles of dead pilchards in Bass Strait.  Mr Hamish Macadie, first mate on the Searoad Mersey, said he saw the fish about six nautical miles from the Devonport coast..

“They were floating on the water and were really thick in some areas. We sailed through about 20 miles of dead pilcards“, Mr Macadie said.

[Source: ‘Mystery Pilchard Deaths Cause Bass Strait `slick”, by Caroline Milburn, The Age, 19950509, ^http://www.toxin.com.au/toxin-articles/1995/5/9/mystery-pilchard-deaths-cause-bass-strait-slick/]

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Australia’s coastal small pelagic fishes, which are often surface-schooling, includes several families which are often each represented by several species (see Allen 1997, Randall et al. 1997, Gomon et al. 2008), including the Clupeidae (sardines, herrings and sprats), Engraulidae (anchovies), Carangidae (scads, jack mackerel), Scombridae (short mackerels), Atherinidae (hardyheads, silversides), Arripidae (Australian herring) and Emelichthidae (redbait).  [‘Pelagic Fishes and Sharks‘ by Hobday, Griffiths,Ward 2009 : 4]. Other fish species of Bass Strait include Majo Sharks, Gummy Sharks, Threshers, Yellowtail Kingfish and Snapper.

The Small Pelagic Fishery of the Eastern sub-area…’is just the beginning’

But Seafish Australia’s utilisation of a factory trawler won’t be limited to just 10,600 tonnes of pelagic fish p.a.

It has in its sights the entire Small Pelagic Fishery across to Perth.

This will deplete the fish stocks of the protected Great White Shark, so lookout surfers at Ceduna!!

[Source: ^http://www.afma.gov.au/managing-our-fisheries/fisheries-a-to-z-index/small-pelagic-fishery/maps/]

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Commonwealth Marine Reserves – Flinders and Freycinet Sanctuary Zones

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The Small Pelagic Fishery set by the Australian Fisheries Management Authority ignores the marine ecologiccal values of the two delineated Sanctuary Zones of Australia’s  South-east Commonwealth Marine Reserve Network.  This includes the Flinders Commonwealth Marine Reserve and the Freycinet Commonwealth Marine Reserve (See green-shaded areas below).

Yet the Australian Fisheries Management Authority’s (AFMA) map invades two IUCN Sanctuary Zones

i.e.  the top two green shaded areas ‘Flinders’ and ‘Freycinet’

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This South-east Commonwealth Marine Reserve Network has been designed to contribute to the National Representative System of Marine Protected Areas (NRSMPA).  The aim of NRSMPA continues to be to protect and conserve important habitats which represent all of Australia’s major ecological regions and the communities of marine plants and animals they contain.

Both the Flinders and Freycinet Commonwealth Marine Reserves were nationally proclaimed in 2007

March 2012:  Tasmania’s parochialism again?

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In Tasmania, when it comes to industrial exploitation, the old parochial adage still prevails – ‘it’s not what you know, but who you know‘.

Director of Seafish Tasmania, Gerry Geen, is:

“Advisor to Australia and international governments on fisheries management and fisheries economics.”

[Source: Seafish Tasmania website, ^http://www.seafish.com.au/_content/board.htm]

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The fishing quota limits (Total Allowable Catch) for this Small Pelagic Fishery are periodically assessed and determined by the committee of Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA), which takes advice specifically from the South East Management Advisory Committee (MAC).    The  fishing quota for this Small Pelagic Fishery for 2012-13 was agreed at a recent teleconference by the South East MAC on 26 March 2012, based upon the advise from the Small Pelagic Fishery (SPF) Resource Assessment Group (RAG).

Of note, two out of the ten members of the SPF RAG have pecuniary interests specifically in this Small Pelagic Fishery.  Denis Brown has commercial fishing permits including in SPF zones A, B, C, and D and controls a Pelagic Fish Processors plant at Eden on the New South Wales south coast.   While director of Seafish Tasmania, Gerry Geen, holds a Zone A purse-seine SPF Permit, four Tasmanian purse-seine Jack Mackerel Permits, a Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Trawl Boat SFR permits.

The reported minutes of the South East MAC on 26 March 2012 teleconference included Total Allocable Catch Declarations as follows:

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Recommended Total Allowable Catches for Blue Mackerel, Redbait and Yellowtail Scad for 2012/13 in the Eastern Zone

~ by the Small Pelagic Fishery (SPF) Resource Assessment Group (RAG)

 

Total Allowable Catch Recommendation #1:

• “Blue Mackerel    2,600  (Tier 2)
• Redbait    6,900      (Tier 1)
• Australian Sardine    200  (Tier 2)”

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Total Allowable Catch Recommendation #3:

• “Increase the Jack Mackerel (east) Recommended Biological Catches (RBC)  from 5,000 tonnes to 10,600 tonnes, subject to conditional support from the RAG’s conservation member and the RAG’s recreational member.”

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[Source: ‘South East MAC Chair’s Summary from 26 March 2012 Teleconference – Small Pelagic Fishery Total Allowable Catch (TAC) Recommendations for 2012/13’, AFMA, ^http://www.afma.gov.au/managing-our-fisheries/consultation/management-advisory-committees/south-east-mac/south-east-mac-chairs-summary-from-26-march-2012-teleconference/]

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Strangely enough, this teleconference dealt with the relevance of a ‘Factory Freezer Vessel‘ on the total allowable catch (TAC).

[Sources: ^http://www.theadvocate.com.au/news/local/news/general/company-partner-declared-conflict-in-catch-discussion/2586769.aspx, ^http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-06-01/fishing-authority-denies-conflict-of-interest/4046334]

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June 2012:   Factory Freezer Vessel (FV Magiris) chartered by Seafish Tasmania

 

10,000 tonne Lithuanian-owned  Factory Fishing Vessel ‘FV Margiris’

Recently contracted by Seafish Tasmania to trawl the Small Pelagic Fishery off  Tasmania’s north east coast

Its draft of 5.5 metres is too deep for Spring Bay, so it must be operated out of Devonport

[Source: ^http://www.shipspotting.com/gallery/photo.php?lid=1220863]

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‘Super trawler operator Seafish Tasmania yesterday indicated it had begun the process of having the Lithuanian vessel Margiris registered as Australian.

Director Gerry Geen said the company aimed to start fishing in Australian waters (the Small Pelagic Fishery) by August 2012…

[Source:  ‘Trawler approval begins’, 20120627, The Mercury (Hobart), ^http://www.themercury.com.au/article/2012/06/27/340551_tasmania-news.html]

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The company has been granted an 18,000 tonne annual quota.    Greens Leader Nick McKim told parliament the increase had been allowed because of the super trawler, Margiris.

“The Commonwealth quota for jack mackeral will be doubled” he said.  “Now this makes a mockery of claims that it is science underpinning these decisions because, of course, the doubling has only occurred because this super trawler has applied to come down and work in Australian Commonwealth waters.”

[Source: ^http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-06-21/greens-step-up-pressure-over-super-trawler/4084658?section=tas]

 

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‘Supertrawler brings global problem to Australian waters’

[Source: ‘Supertrawler brings global problem to Australian waters‘, by Andrew Darby, Hobart correspondent for Fairfax Media, 20120611, ^http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/supertrawler-brings-global-problem-to-australian-waters-20120611-205b7.html]

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Vast swathe … the Margiris supertrawler. Photo: Greenpeace

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‘Say hello to our fishing future. It’s called Margiris. If ever Australians needed convincing that the global appetite for fish is our problem too, this supertrawler is it.   Twice the size of the previous largest vessel ever to fish our Commonwealth waters, it measures 142 metres in length and weighs 9,600 tonnes.  Its Dutch owners are changing its flag of registration from Lithuanian to Australian.

By August, it is scheduled to be roaming between the Tasman Sea and Western Australia in pursuit of 17,500 tonnes a year of small pelagic fish.

Tagged … Greenpeace activists write on the side of the Margiris in the Atlantic off Mauritania in 2011

(Photo by Greenpeace, March 2011)

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But it’s not simply the size of FV Margiris that brings home the issue of rising industrial pressure on fish stocks. It’s the stark story of seafood market forces.  Last March, in the Atlantic off Mauritania, Greenpeace activists wrote “plunder” on the side of the Margiris. They are campaigning against European operators who are taking West Africa’s fish, leaving locals catchless.

In Australia, the Margiris is set to catch the same sort of fish – jack mackerel, blue mackerel and redbait – and freeze them into blocks for export.

The destination of the catch?  “The large majority will go to West Africa for human consumption, as frozen whole fish,” said Seafish Tasmania director Gerry Geen.

Australian fishers have long sought to exploit the country’s so-called “small pelagics”, which are prey for bigger fish such as tuna and marlin. Seafish Tasmania is partnering with ship owners Parlevliet & Van der Plas to do this on a scale previously unseen.

Alarms have been raised in other global fisheries about these mainly Europe-based small-pelagic hunters.

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According to The New York Times, stocks of Jack Mackerel have dropped from an estimated 30 million metric tons to less than a tenth of that amount in just two decades.

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The minutes of an Australian Fisheries Management Authority advisory committee show serious debate about the introduction of the Margiris.  They reveal that Mr Geen, who was on the committee, gave “background” input.  But because of his conflict of interest, he did not contribute to a recommendation to double the Australian eastern jack mackerel catch to 10,000 tonnes.

This has given the single greatest fillip to the Margiris venture.  Mr Geen told the National Times the Margiris would take less than 5% of the total stock of small pelagics, as measured by surveys of egg production by the target species.

“I think people are worried about the size of the vessel, but that is really irrelevant,” he said. “It’s the size of the total allowable catch that counts.”

Other advisory committee members pointed to the ecological impact on existing fishers of taking so much of the small pelagics, even though these catches are outside state waters.

A coalition of global, national and state environment groups has written to Fisheries Minister Joe Ludwig, calling for the Margiris to be banned.

Right now it’s moored in the Netherlands, and Greenpeace is keeping an eye on its movements.  Watch this space.’

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..didn’t have to wait long..

Greenpeace in The Netherlands:  ‘Stop Exporting Overcapacity’

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On 28th June 2012, Greenpeace activists in the Netherlands attached themselves to the mooring ropes and chained the ship’s propellers of the super trawler FV Margiris, to delay its journey to Australia to serve Seafish Tasmania’s plans to overfish 18,000 toinnes of pelagic fish.

Greenpeace spokesman Nathanial Pelle said:

“Really this is to demonstrate that the European Commission, which has committed to reducing its capacity, shouldn’t be allowed to ship its oversized fleet off to other fisheries around the world and that goes for Australia as well.”

[Source: ‘Greenpeace protest delays super trawler’, 20120628, ABC, ^http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-06-28/greenpeace-protest-delays-super-trawler/4098672]

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“The MAC noted some concerns raised in relation to the proposed TAC for jack mackerel (east) suggested that a super trawler might also have differential impacts on the stock and ecosystem.”

~ South East Management Advisory Committee (MAC) Chairman Steve McCormack noted.

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Of Course the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) celebrated Seafish Australia’s strategy as “A Shot In The Arm For Tassie Economy” , given that the MUA is only narrowly self-interested in its members.  MUA Assistant National Secretary, Ian Bray, said the news of new jobs was welcome.

“This initiative is welcome news for Tasmania’s seafarers and maritime workers”, Mr Bray said. “This is just the kind of development the Tasmanian economy needs. We’re pleased that there will be new jobs for Tasmanians”, Mr Hill said.

[Source:  ‘ “A Shot In The Arm For Tassie Economy”, MUA Media Release, 20120605, The Maritime Union of Australia (MUA), ^http://mua.org.au/news/seafish-tasmania-announcement-a-shot-in-the-arm-fo/]

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Footnote

 

Super Trawler: AFMA did not follow the law

[Source: ‘Super Trawler: AFMA did not follow the law’ , by Andrew Wilkie MP,

Independent Member for Denison MR, 20130115, Tasmanian Times,

^http://tasmaniantimes.com/index.php?/weblog/article/super-trawler/]

The Commonwealth Ombudsman has written to me outlining his findings in response to my complaint that the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) erred when setting the quota relevant to the super trawler Margiris.

The Ombudsman found that AFMA did not follow the law when the South East Management Advisory Committee finalised its recommendation for the quota relevant to the super trawler.

In particular the Ombudsman found that one of the members of that committee had a financial conflict of interest but was allowed to remain in, and contribute to, discussions about the quota.

As a direct result of the Ombudsman’s investigation AFMA has undertaken remedial and corrective steps to address the substantive issues arising from my complaint.

The Ombudsman has also forwarded material to the Federal Government’s review of fisheries legislation.

Seafish Tasmania has responded by attacking the Ombudsman which is clearly a case of attacking the messenger who found very serious problems with fisheries management in Australia.

Seafish claims the Ombudsman “had completed the investigation and found nothing to report’’. In fact the Ombudsman’s letter to me of 18 December 2012 outlining the results of the inquiry runs to four pages and includes the findings “processes relating to a scheduled meeting of the South East Management Advisory Committee  (SEMAC) on 26 March 2012 were not in accordance with legislative requirement’’ and that the “conflicted SPFRAG [Small Pelagic Fishery Resource Assessment Group] members did not seek approval to remain at, and participate in, group deliberations after declaring the conflict [of interest]’’.

In other words my complaint to the Ombudsman that AFMA did not follow proper process when it set the quota relevant to the Margiris has been upheld.
Seafish claims I didn’t release the letter because it didn’t suit my “agenda’’. In fact I decided not to release the letter during the Christmas/New Year holiday period because it was simply too important a document to bury during the holiday period and subsequent bushfire emergency. Moreover I did hand the letter to the Mercury newspaper this morning, well before Seafish issued its media release.

Seafish notes the Ombudsman’s report (which it claims to have not seen) offers no comment on Director Gerry Geen or Seafish itself. But in fact Mr Geen is well known as being the relevant member of SEMAC and SPFRAG.

Seafish claims my comments last year about the Ombudsman investigating “other matters’’ was some kind of beat up. But in fact it was the Ombudsman who

referred to other matters being under investigation and the Ombudsman’s letter to me does in fact address other issues, and in particular the conflict of interest and communications difficulties associated with the SPFRAG.

Seafish Tasmania claims there is now no question mark over the quota relevant to the Margiris. But in fact all the Ombudsman says is that “it does not necessarily follow that errors in the SEMAC process operate to invalidate the TAC [Total Allowable Catch]’’ and goes on to note the review of fisheries legislation which is still ongoing.

That there were at least very serious problems within AFMA is beyond question for all, it seems, other than Seafish Tasmania. The Federal Government has already identified the need for a roots and branch review of fisheries legislation and the Ombudsman’s letter to me lists 11 AFMA actions as a result of my complaint.

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Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia mydas)

Also known as Green Turtle, Black (sea) Turtle, or Pacific Green Turtle and can be found on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.

The species is listed as ‘Endangered‘ by the IUCN and CITES and is protected from exploitation in most countries where it is illegal to collect, harm or kill them.

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Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is one of the world’s seven natural wonders.  It is the world’s largest reef system stretching over 2,600 kilometres from Lady Elliot Island off Gladstone Harbour up to the top of Cape York Peninsula at the Torres Strait.

The Great Barrier Reef has 411 types of hard coral, comprises 900 islands and 2,900 individual coral reefs as well as many cays and lagoons .  It is a natural sanctuary for 36 species of marine mammals including whales, dolphins and porpoises, some  1500 fish species, 134 species of sharks and rays, 4,000 types of mollusc and is home to 215 species of birds either migrating, nesting or roosting on the islands.

The Reef and associated beaches provide vital habitat home to six species of sea turtles which swim vast distances to the reef to breed including the Green Sea Turtle.   Both the Green Sea Turtle and the unusual Dugong are species particularly threatened with extinction due to Aboriginal Poaching and associated non-traditional commercial exploitation.

Dugong (Dugong dugon) feeding on Sea Grass Meadows

(Photo by Barry Ingham)

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Dugongs?

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Dugongs were hunted toward extinction by European colonists during the 19th Century for their meat and oil.

Most Dugongs now live in the northern waters of Australia between Shark Bay and Moreton Bay particularly in the Torres Strait and along the Grest Barrier Reef.  Ongoing ‘traditional’ hunting is driving populations close to extinction.  Consequently the IUCN lists Dugongs as ‘Vulnerable‘ to extinction, while the CITES limits or bans the trade of derived products.

Australian Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders ignore this and continue to poach Dugongs for non-traditional commercial exploitation.  ^Read about Dugongs

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In 1981, The Great Barrier Reef was inscribed on the UNESCO’s World Heritage List under all four natural World Heritage criteria for its outstanding universal value:

1. Outstanding example representing a major stage of the Earth’s evolutionary history
2. Outstanding example representing significant ongoing geological processes, biological evolution and man’s interaction with his natural environment
3. Contains unique, rare and superlative natural phenomena, formations and features and areas of exceptional natural beauty
4. Provide habitats where populations of rare and endangered species of plants and animals still survive

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The IUCN-protected  Great Barrier Reef Marine Park is 345,000 square kilometres in size; five times the size of Tasmania or larger that the United Kingdom and Ireland combined!

As scientists have become to understand more about the Reef’s complex ecosystem, they have discovered that damaging fishing practices, pollution and coral bleaching exacerbated by increased sea temperatures due to global warming are compounding to jeopardise the Reef’s future.

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The ecological protection and management of  the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park is delegated by the IUCN to the safe custody and sovereignty of the Australian Government, currently under the Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, Tony Burke MP.    The management task in turn has delegated the responsibility to The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority guided by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act 1975 (Cwlth), which is headquartered in Townsville and with regional offices in Cairns, Mackay, Rockhampton and Canberra.

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 “The Great Barrier Reef is internationally recognised for its outstanding biodiversity. The World Heritage status of the Reef recognises its great diversity of species and habitats. Conserving the Reef’s biodiversity is not just desirable – it is essential. By protecting biodiversity, we are protecting our future and our children’s future.”

~ GBRMPA website

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Great Barrier Reef Tourism

Because of the Reef’s magnificent biodiversity, diving on the Reef is very popular

(Diver with Green Sea Turtle)

 

Tourism Australia promotes the Reef thus:

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‘Once you’ve experienced the Great Barrier Reef you will know why it is one of the seven wonders of the natural world. Diving and snorkelling are a must. Stay at a one of the many heavenly island resorts. Charter a yacht and sail The Whitsundays. Find your own uninhabited island. Where else in the world can you find a beach where the only footprints in the sand are your own.

There are hundreds of dreamy islands and coral atolls on the World Heritage-listed Great Barrier Reef, so take your pick. Luxury lovers and honeymooners will be in heaven on Lizard Island, exclusive Bedarra or privately-owned Double and Haggerstone Islands. For a wilderness experience, bush camp on Fitzroy Island or trek the Thorsborne Trail along mist-cloaked Hinchinbrook Island. Day trip to Green and Fitzroy Islands, snorkel the brilliant coral reefs of the Low Isles or sea kayak around Snapper Island, Hope Islands National Park with an Aboriginal guide. Townsville, Port Douglas and Lucinda are just some of the mainland gateways.’

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And at the northern tip of the Reef, Cape York and the Torres Strait Islands are promoted thus:

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‘Sitting just north of Cape York, between Australia and Papua New Guinea, the Torres Strait Islands are made up of 274 small islands, only 17 of which are inhabited. These communities have developed a unique blend of Melanesian and Australian Aboriginal cultures. Get a glimpse with a trip to Thursday or Horn Island, the group’s most developed islands. Learn about the local pearling and fishing industry on Thursday island, reached by ferry from Cape York. Visit the museum, art gallery and historic World War II sites on Horn Island, accessible by flight. Both islands are blessed with pristine beaches, azure waters and vivid fringing reefs supporting dugongs and sea turtles.’

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[Source: Tourism Australia, a department of the Australian Government, ^http://www.australia.com/about/australias-landscapes/australias-islands.aspx]

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It all seems like idyllic paradise!

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Australia’s disturbing reality on The Reef and at Cape York

There are thousands of native Sea Turtles dying on our Great Barrier Reef as a result of:

• Water Pollution from sewage and stormwater
• Water pollution and  farm pestidices, herbicides and fertilisers
  
• Damaging Fishing Practices
• Illegal Poaching
• Cyclones and Flooding  
• Tredging of Gladstone Harbour and  associated coastal Industrial Development
• Bulk Cargo Ships leaking contaminants

Gladstone Harbour dredging in 2011-12 by the Gladstone Ports Corporation and LNG

..continues to muddy Barrier Reef habitat and destroy Sea Grass Meadows critical to Sea Turtkes and Dungongs

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The recent Queensland floods and cyclones have starkly shown the impacts of water pollution on the marine environment. Pesticide and mud pollution from out-dated farming practices has led to a massive spike in Dugong and Sea Turtle deaths.

In addition, poor fishing practices can still kill too many of our Sea Turtles and Dugongs, and industrial development is proliferating along the coast and removing remaining habitats, such as Sea Grass Meadows that Sea Turtles and Dugongs depend on for their survival.

Over the past 12 months, more than 1,400 turtles and 180 dugongs have washed up on our beaches. Clearly our Reef is under enormous pressure and our wildlife is suffering.

The Great Barrier Reef is a World Heritage global icon and something that Queenslanders are proud to be the custodians of. It is unacceptable to many of us that the Reef would be under this amount of pressure. We’re not alone in these concerns – UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee also expressed serious concern recently about the long-term health of the Great Barrier Reef.

[Source: ^http://support.wwf.org.au/queensland-turtles.html]

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Oil is seen next to the 230-metre bulk coal carrier Shen Neng I about 70 kilometres east of Great Keppel Island, 20100404.

“damage to the reef is significant, with large parts of Douglas Shoal “completely flattened” and marine life “pulverised”.

(Maritime Safety Queensland/Reuters)

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‘130 turtles stranded this year‘

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‘The Scientific Advisory Committee has been charged with the task of investigating this year’s spate of marine animal deaths in Gladstone Harbour.

Responding to calls for all results to be made public, the environment minister’s office provided the following data:

• 130 turtle strandings were reported; 11 of those were released or in rehabilitation
• Of 119 turtles found dead in the harbour this year, only 24 had autopsies conducted

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Of those 24 turtles, 13 were identified as dying from human activity (11 boat strikes and two undetermined); 11 were identified as dying from natural causes (10 from ill health and disease and one undetermined).

Eight Dugongs have been found dead. One was killed by boat strike and one from netting. The remaining six were too badly decomposed for autopsies.

Five Dolphin deaths were reported. One was caused by unspecified human activity. The remaining four were too decomposed.

Because floods damaged seagrass levels, marine animals are more vulnerable to human activity.’

[Source: ‘130 turtles stranded this year’, 20110824, ^http://www.gladstoneobserver.com.au/story/2011/08/24/130-turtles-stranded-in-harbour-this-year/]

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‘Another Dugong death’

This dead dugong was found on Witt Island by Clive Last (July 2011)

 who is increasing worried by marine animal deaths in Gladstone Harbour (Great Barrier Reef).

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‘Another dead Dugong has been found in Gladstone Harbour, and the man who found it wants some answers.

Clive Last, who in May discovered a dead dolphin on Turtle Island, was shocked on Friday afternoon when he found the body of a dead Dugong on Witt Island.

Mr Last is wary of suggestions marine animal deaths this year can be attributed to boat strikes and net fishing. He said those explanations didn’t match his observations on the harbour.

“I honestly believe it’s either starvation (from damaged seagrass meadows) or there is something in the harbour,” Mr Last said.  “Right now, Turtles and Dugongs are continually coming up.  That means there is (something) going on.”

He believed the Dolphin he found in May had no injuries to indicate it had been killed by boat strike or fishing nets.

The Department of Environment and Resource Management reported the Dolphin’s body was too decomposed to conduct a necropsy.

Mr Last said, once again, the dead Dugong’s body showed no sign of injury.  He took five photos and called Queensland Parks and Wildlife.

Mr Last, whose work requires him to spend a lot of time on the harbour, is increasingly disturbed by the trend of dead marine animals in Gladstone Harbour.

“If I don’t see another one after today, I’ll be very happy,” he said.  “I’d also be very happy if someone would come up with the truth about what is really killing them.  “You can’t keep saying it’s boat strike, when I’ve got photos showing it’s not boat strike.”

Mr Last said he was worried the scientific advisory committee’s investigation into the deaths in Gladstone Harbour would take too long to come up with results.

DERM (Queensland Department of Environment and Resource Management) could not be contacted over the weekend.

The list goes on:

• The dead Dugong found on Witt Island was the latest in a long, mysterious list of marine animal deaths this year.
• Three dead Dolphins were found in Gladstone Harbour in May, within two weeks of each other.
• The latest discovery is the fourth Dugong found dead in the harbour since May
• More than 40 Turtles have washed up dead in the harbour since April.  The Turtle deaths have been the subject of intense debate between environmentalists and commercial fishermen.
• Marine experts from various organisations have told The Observer seagrass levels, damaged by the floods, are putting stress on the animals.

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“LNG will deliver billions of Australian Dollars to be shipped overseas as profit we will be left with the rotting carcasses of dead dugongs, poisoned water tables, destroyed farmland and a bill for the infrastructure the council builds for them.”

~ Comment by Chris Norman from Agnes Waters (July 2011)

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[Source: ‘Another dugong death’ by David Sparkes, The Gladstone Observer, 20110725, ^http://www.gladstoneobserver.com.au/story/2011/07/25/another-dugong-death-marine-deaths-gladstone/]

Dugong washed up at Gladstone – marked with gashes

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Heinous cruelty as Aborigines hack live pregnant Green Sea Turtle

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There’s tension in far north Queensland between Traditional Hunting rights (Ed: read ‘perversion’) and the protection of Turtles and Dugongs, and it is resulting in some horrific treatment of native animals.

Transcript from ABC Broadcast (extracts of video added):

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CHRIS UHLMANN, PRESENTER: Protected Dugongs and Sea Turtles are being cruelly slaughtered in Queensland’s Torres Strait to supply an illegal meat trade.

Tranquil coastal tip of Cape York Peninsula and the Torres Strait

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An investigation by 7.30 has found deeply confronting footage that we are about to air. It shows the brutal methods used to hunt the animals, with turtles being butchered alive and dugongs drowned as they’re dragged behind boats.

The investigation throws into sharp relief the conflict between Indigenous Australians and animal rights activists over traditional hunting and exposes a black market in animal meat.

And a warning: this report by Sarah Dingle and producer Lesley Robinson contains disturbing images and coarse language.

SARAH DINGLE, REPORTER: At the northern-most tip of Australia lie the serene islands and waters of Queensland’s Torres Strait, the birthplace of Native Title. But on those beaches, there’s a slaughter underway.

7.30 travelled to far North Queensland where IT entrepreneur turned eco warrior Rupert Imhoff has been investigating the fate of threatened turtle and dugong populations. And what he found is shocking. A turtle lies tethered for up to three days, waiting to die.

Green Sea Turtles are routinely tethered by rope by local Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander men in the shallows,

then inverted on to their backs so that they tire from struggling and often drown.

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RUPERT IMHOFF, ECO WARRIOR: They dragged it out of the water, flipped it on its back. You could see it was already terrorised. It was flapping around madly. And they came up with this concrete block and basically tried to slam it in the head, obviously to stun the animal. Didn’t quite work.

Man uses a concrete block and throws it twice at the Turtles head

but the female Turtle continues to flap.  She has no voice.

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SARAH DINGLE:   The images become even more confronting.

RUPERT IMHOFF:   Before they started hacking off its fins, they wanted to check if it was pregnant, and sure enough this turtle was a mature aged turtle. Had up to 125 eggs in it. It was gonna be the next generation of turtles, but they decided to cut it up right there and then.

Aboriginal man knifes into the womb of the female Turtle to see it if pregnant

– she is.

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SARAH DINGLE:   Even as it’s hacked, the turtle clings to life, apparently in agony for seven and a half minutes.

The man then starts hacking into the live healthy Turtle

Left flipper already hacked off, the still live turtle has its right flipper hacked off,

while the men keep it helplessly lying on its back

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RUPERT IMHOFF:   Didn’t actually die until they took off the bottom shell, they actually peeled off the shell and then it just let out one gasp – one last gasp of air and passed away.

SARAH DINGLE:   Using a hidden camera, Rupert Imhoff spent two weeks in the Torres Strait filming the hunting of sea turtle and dugong which are both listed as vulnerable to extinction.

RUPERT IMHOFF:   They go out, they spear them at sea, they then tie the tail to the back of the boat and they hold the head underwater. And it can take up to seven and a half minutes again, so I’ve been told, for that dugong to drown.

Speared Dugong, still alive is tied by the tail fin to the side of the boat so it drowns as the boat returns to shore

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SARAH DINGLE:   Here, a Dugong is methodically carved up for consumption. For anyone else, this kill would be illegal, as dugong are protected under federal law. However, the Native Title Act allows traditional owners to hunt to satisfy their personal, domestic or non-commercial communal needs.

Anywhere in Australia, this horrific cruelty would be will illegal. But in Queensland alone, Native Title hunting is exempt from animal cruelty laws. Animal rights activists are appalled.

Lawyer Rebecca Smith was a paid consultant on the turtle and dugong hunt for the Torres Strait Regional Authority.

REBECCA SMITH, LAWYER:   Most conservation groups won’t touch this issue. It’s just too hard, too prickly, too sensitive. It’s often deemed – people who are opposed to traditional hunting are often called racist, but there’s nothing racist about saying, “This is cruel. We’ll move on from there. We’ll do this humanely now. We’ve progressed.”

SARAH DINGLE:   Aerial surveys of dugong and turtle numbers are imperfect and no-one knows exactly how many there are. Green sea turtles face an extra pressure. They’re by far the turtle species most intensively hunted for their meat. But locals say there are bigger threats for turtle and dugong.

???: You know we are under threat from pig predation, our – one of the greatest, biggest rookeries in the Southern Hemisphere on Cape York, Rain Island, is under threat from climate change, but we seem to be concentrating I think far too much on, you know, Indigenous people hunting them.

SARAH DINGLE:   What is known is that the Great Barrier Reef is a last stronghold. It’s home to the biggest sea turtle rookery in the globe and one of the world’s largest population of dugong.

Cairns-based Colin Riddell calls himself “The Dugong Man”. A former abattoir worker, he’s an unlikely but tireless campaigner for animal rights.

COLIN RIDDELL, ANIMAL RIGHTS CAMPAIGNER:   I have to pursue it to the end because otherwise the end may be for the animals.

SARAH DINGLE:   Colin Riddell’s investigations have revealed the slaughter goes on far to the south in coastal Queensland waters.

Green Island is one of the jewels in the crown of Cairns tourism. We’ve been told just last week at this spot Indigenous hunters chased down and took a green sea turtle in full view of shocked tourists. There’s no way of knowing where those hunters came from, but locals say this is a weekly occurrence on this island.

STEVE DAVIES, TOUR OPERATOR:   They can be out there a lot, you know – three, four, five times a week. They come across in quite large tinnies with large outboard motors on board and they chase the turtles till they’re completely and utterly exhausted.

SARAH DINGLE:   The culture clash between hunters and tourists has led to heated confrontations.

INDIGENOUS HUNTER (Amateur video):   This our land! We don’t list end to your shit, mate! We can do anything on this land we wanna do, mate!

SARAH DINGLE:   This video was shot two weeks ago by a tourist and given to 7.30. It shows an allocation between a tour boat and three Indigenous hunters.

INDIGENOUS HUNTER (Amateur video):   Ya just don’t tell us what to do on our land! You’re not from this f***in’ land; we are! We’re the traditional owner! We own every f***in’ reef around here, mate!

SARAH DINGLE:   It’s not clear what they’re hunting for, but there’s no mistaking the tensions.

INDIGENOUS HUNTER (Amateur video):   You f*** off back to your country. This is my country, c***.

SARAH DINGLE:   Is there a sense in your area that the Indigenous hunters are untouchable?

STEVE DAVIES:   Without a doubt. And they believe they’re untouchable.

SARAH DINGLE:   But there are conservation efforts.

Well away from the glitzy marinas and the tourist strip, here in the industrial area of Cairns is the town’s only turtle rehabilitation centre. It’s run on the smell of an oily rag. Here, injured and starving turtles are treated and brought back to full health.

Today, Jenny Gilbert and her team are readying a 180 kilogram breeding age female green sea turtle for release. By the look of things, this 80-year-old turtle has already survived a number of hazards.

Turtles like this are being hunted not traditionally, but for a very modern purpose. Our investigations have revealed the hunt is feeding a flourishing black market.

JAMES EPONG, MANDUBARRA LAND & SEA CORP.:   Well nine times out 10 the illegal trade is to sell the meat for the benefit – for grog money or drugs.

SARAH DINGLE:   And can you can make a buck out of it?

JAMES EPONG:   Yes. There’s one person that we know of in Yarrabah made $80,000 one year.

SARAH DINGLE:   James Epong is a Mandubarra man who lives on his traditional lands an hour south of Cairns and Yarrabah. The Mandubarra have declared a moratorium on taking turtle and dugong from their see country, but around them, the illegal meat trade continues.

JAMES EPONG:   I myself went to a pub on a Friday afternoon to go and have a coldie with one of me mates and was approached by some other Indigenous people with trivac (phonetic spelling) meat for sale, which was turtle and dugong.

SARAH DINGLE:   On four separate occasions 7.30 has confirmed multiple eskies arriving on the afternoon flight from Horn Island to Cairns.

RUPERT IMHOFF:   I do not know 100 per cent for a fact what was in those eskies, but I have heard numerous reports and been told by the islanders themselves that they are transporting an excessive amount of turtle and dugong down to Cairns. Now on my flight I think there was about six or seven eskies that come off and I’ve been told that it almost a daily routine.

SARAH DINGLE:   Indigenous sea rangers are employed and equipped by governments to care for marine wildlife. This esky was addressed to a ranger.

RUPERT IMHOFF:   From what I understand and what I observed and what I spoke to the islanders about is the head hunters on all these islands are actually the rangers themselves. Now this money has gone into their pockets. It’s gonna help them buy outboard motors and help them basically go and hunt these turtle and dugong down in bigger numbers.

SARAH DINGLE:   Were any of the people you saw hunting and killing animals rangers?

RUPERT IMHOFF:   Yes, they were 100 per cent.

SARAH DINGLE:   Did you pay those people in your footage to do what they were doing?

RUPERT IMHOFF:   We did not pay a single person any money while we were up there.

SARAH DINGLE:   And the illegal trade continues further south.

SEITH FOURMILE, CAIRNS TRADITIONAL OWNER:   I know that there’s a lot of non-Indigenous people that are doing it as well.

SARAH DINGLE:   Are they doing the hunting or are they involved in other way?

SEITH FOURMILE:   They’re involved with the trading of it, or selling it and passing it down, and some of the turtle meats has gone far down as Sydney and Melbourne.

SARAH DINGLE:   And it’s not just dugong and turtle meat being sold. Traditional owners from Cape York are pushing to end the indiscriminate slaughter and stop the esky trade.

Sea Turtle air freighted from Cairns to Sydney and Melbourne

Nothing to do with ‘Traditional Hunting’, which is a low-life smokescreen for what it really is:

Illegal Wildlife Poaching and Trade for personal commercial profit.

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FRANKIE DEEMAL, TURTLE AND DUGONG TASKFORCE:   We don’t have that kind of legislative assistance to do that. What do you do when you confront a rogue killer?

SARAH DINGLE:   And we’ve heard a lotta people talk about rogue killers. Who are these rogue killers?

FRANKIE DEEMAL:   They’re there.

SARAH DINGLE:   Who are they?

FRANKIE DEEMAL:   They know who they are.

SARAH DINGLE:   For those with Native Title rights, customs can change.

LOCAL MAN:   We’re gonna name this turtle Bumbida (phonetic spelling), after our grandmother.

SARAH DINGLE:   But the Mandubarra people at least have sworn to protect these animals.

CHRIS UHLMANN:   Sarah Dingle with that report, produced by Lesley Robinson.

And 7.30 contacted the Queensland Department of Environment and Resource Management. In a statement it said it takes, “the claims very seriously and will investigate all reports of illegal hunting and poaching”.

You can follow the progress of the turtles released in this story by going to the sea turtle satellite tracking page.

Editor’s note: (April 16) the ABC also approached the Torres Strait Regional Authority (TSRA) several times over the course of a week prior to broadcast but their spokesperson was unavailable for comment.

 

Watch the entire Documentary aired nationally across Australia in March 2012:

WARNING:  THIS VIDEO CONTAINS DISTURBING ANIMAL CRUELTY WHICH MAY OFFEND.  WE INCLUDE IT TO PORTRAY THE REALITY OF AUSTRALIA’S TREATMENT OF TURTLES AND DUGONGS IN THE NAME OF ‘TRADITIONAL HUNTING’

[Source: ‘Hunting rights hide horror for dugongs, turtles’, by reporters Sarah Dingle and Lesley Robinson, documentary presented by Chris Uhlmann, 730 Programme, 20120308, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, ^http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2012/s3448943.htm]

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‘Queensland to outlaw Dugong-hunt cruelty’

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Animal activists have welcomed moves by the Queensland Government to outlaw hunting-related cruelty to dugongs and turtles.

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‘Under the Native Title Act, traditional owners are allowed to hunt Turtles and Dugongs.’

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Footage aired on the ABC in March showed animals being butchered alive by some Indigenous hunters and sparked an investigation into the practice.

Queensland Fisheries Minister John McVeigh yesterday introduced legislation into Parliament to outlaw any unreasonable pain being inflicted during hunting.

The RSPCA’s Michael Beatty says the Government should be commended.

“No-one thinks – including the Indigenous leaders – that this type of cruelty, if you like, is necessary,” he said.

Mr Beatty says authorities need to continue to work with traditional owners.  “It isn’t simply a case of just outlawing it, it really isn’t that simple because obviously it has to be policed as well,” he said.

But animal activist Colin Riddell says the hunting should be banned altogether.  “People flock to Australia to see our Great Barrier Reef and see those beautiful animals and I fear for the day that my children, your children don’t get to see those animals,” he said.

Native title hunting rights would not be extinguished by the Bill.’

[Source:  ‘Queensland to outlaw dugong-hunt cruelty’, 20120620, ABC, ^http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-06-20/animal-rights-groups-welcome-cruelty-hunting-ban/4080688]

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But this heinous cruelty by Indigenous Australians has long been know by the Australian Government..

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Back in 2011:   ‘Call for inquiry into marine animal poaching‘

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The Federal Opposition has called for a judicial inquiry into Dugong and Turtle poaching in far north Queensland.  Tourism operators say tourists have been exposed to mutilated and slaughtered turtles on island beaches, off Cairns.  Four far north Queensland Liberal National Party (LNP) candidates say they want that stopped at key tourism sites.

Pictures of a mutilated turtle found on Green Island by tourists at the weekend have prompted public outrage.  The animals are legally protected but the Native Title Act allows for hunting by traditional owners.

But Federal Opposition environment spokesman Greg Hunt says legal hunting is not the problem.

“The advice we have from Indigenous leaders is that the vast bulk of hunting is poaching,” he said.   Mr Hunt says inaction on poaching is causing problems.
“There really has to be a crackdown on poaching,” he said.   “The vast bulk of the take of Turtle and Dugong is coming from poaching.  “There is a trade in illegally obtained meat and animal product.  “This is a complete breach of the law.”

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority is investigating the issue.

[Source: ‘Call for inquiry into marine animal poaching‘, by Brad Ryan, ABC, 20111107, ^http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-11-11/call-for-inquiry-into-marine-animal-poaching/3660324]

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Back in 2010:  ‘Cairns Turtle and Dugong activist campaigns against slaughter caught on video’

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Former union activist turned environmental defender Colin Ridell, who counts Bob Irwin, John Mackenzie, Derryn Hinch and Greg Hunt MP among his loyal following, says the silence is deafening from the government to stop slaughter of turtles on the waters around Cairns.
Riddell is campaigning to reduce the taking of turtle and dugong, that is occurring under the protection of Native Title, until a complete scientific study is done to determine the actual numbers to be taken.

“It will be tightly controlled by the EPA and the elders with a permit system, that is monitored by special investigators. I and other indigenous elders support a moratorium to determine the take,” Riddell says. “The skulls of each to be kept to determine actual permitted numbers taken, as is done in other permit systems.”

He says that any breach would carry a substantial penalty, however advocates a complete ban in green zones, like all our coastal tourist areas. “I don’t want international tourists and interstate visitors to take home horror stories.”

The campaign follows the leaking of a graphic video showing a turtle having its flippers hacked off while still alive. RSPCA Queensland has called for a review of traditional hunting.

“It’s just not good enough, this is a violent and obscene way to treat these animals, ” Cairns resident Colin Riddell told CairnsBlog. “Any indigenous person is allowed to kill sea turtles and dugongs for weddings or funerals, but it has far beyond that, and is being commercially moved around the state.

“I don’t want international tourists and interstate visitors to take back horror stories home,” he says Riddell, who has taken his campaign to every State and Federal Government minister.

“I’ve written to the Minister for Local Government and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships who have acknowledged my letter,” Riddell says. “The replied thanking me for me letter and said it ‘will be actioned as appropriate.’ However I have received no response,” he says.
Riddell has also wrote to Greg Combet for support, who he engaged with as a Manufacturing Workers Union site convener at the Australian Defence Industries Benalla plant. He says that Environment Minister Peter Garrett has also given him the “bum’s rush.”

“I received a response from the ‘Parliamentary Clearance Officer’ however it was totally unsatisfactory,” Riddell said. “I told them to get my message Peter Garrett, which was a direct result of Jim Turnour’s and Peter Garrett staffers. Weak efforts.”

Another response from the International Whaling Commission fell on deaf ears. “I asked them why we condemn Japan when Australians do the same,” Colin Riddell said. Julie Creek, responded. “Your message was deleted without being read.”

The original poster of the graphic video says that it’s fair enough if you have to kill turtles because it is a “traditional right” but who cuts the leg of a cow first and let it die in its own blood?
“No one is going to starve in Australia because we stop the killing of turtles. Australia earns millions of dollars with the tourism industry – with tourists who come to dive with turtles and in the same country we torture the turtles to death,” the anonymous poster wrote. “Species will vanish forever and in the end it does not matter whose fault it was. This is not a question of human races this is a question of respect and ethics towards other creatures.”

Colin Riddell and the RSPCA are trying to track down who shot the video and where it was taken, so they can investigate the incident. It is believed it was filmed in North Queensland mid last year.

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“Until now cruelty to animals using traditional hunting methods has been put in the too hard basket by governments.”

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Mark Townend of the RSPCA said. “Far from it, he said. We have Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island elders who support us on this issue.

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“Hunting from tinnies with rifles is not traditional.”

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“We’re committed to ensuring that any breaches of the Animal Care and Protection Act are fully investigated while at the same time taking into consideration traditional hunting rights,” RSPCA chief inspector Michael Pecic says. “We can’t do this alone. We’re a charity and yet it appears we’re the only organisation that is taking this matter seriously.”

“We have Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island elders who support us on this issue,” Riddell says. “Hunting from tinnies with rifles is not traditional. Leaving turtles and dugongs to be butchered alive and left to die on the beach is not traditional. We’re not attacking the indigenous community. This is simply not an appropriate way to kill these animals.”
James Epong, son of an aboriginal elder says that Ma:mu traditional owners have a right to hunt for protected species such as dugong and marine turtles that is recognised by Australian Law.

“Our Ma:mu traditional owners, who are also called the Mandubarra mob, have put aside some of these rights and signed a Traditional Use Marine Resource Agreement so they can protect rather that exploit dugong and marine turtles,” James Epong says.

The agreement for their turtle business is co-ordinated through the Mandubarra Land and Sea Corporation and was finalised in June 2008.

“I am very proud to see that Ma:mu traditional owners are prepared to sacrifice rights and traditions, for the sake of helping threatened turtle and dugong stocks recover,” Epong says. “Keep in mind the Ma:mu people are setting aside hunting and cultural practices that go back tens of thousands of years for the future benefit of all Australians.”

In 1996, a landmark High Court decision concerned with particular pastoral titles, was passed regarding Native Title hunting rights. The decision did not allow anyone simply to claim Indigenous links and then hunt and kill native animals anywhere in Queensland. It authorised any legitimate native title holder to hunt and kill for genuine sustenance and other needs and without first obtaining a licence, but only in areas over which native title is held by that group.

The decision did not allow native title owners to trap or kill wildlife for commercial purposes, however Colin Riddell says that this is occurring. “These area being transported through the Cairns Airport in Eskys,” he says.

Riddell says on his website that the 1996 decision says nothing one way or the other about using modern weapons like guns and powered boats to undertake traditional hunting. It is interesting that the use of harpoons, outboard-powered boats, and steel axes to kill the crocodiles as an exercise of native title hunting rights.

“It seemed to concern nobody on the High Court bench, with the possible exception of Justice Callinan. Followers of native title developments need to keep in mind the distinction between exercising an established native right in a modern way, as in the Yanner case, and the loss or abandonment of traditional and established native title rights themselves, as found by the trial judge to be a fatal flaw in the Yorta Yorta decision.”

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Commercial Exploitation of Hunting and Fishing Rights

This issue, namely the extent to which the holders of native title may exercise the relevant rights in a “modern” fashion, and indeed the connected issue of whether they might even commercially exploit those rights, are difficult ones. Whilst not directly in issue in the Yanner case, these issues are of considerable importance in the broader scheme of Australian native title law – and are yet to be answered conclusively.

Some important developments in this area are taking place in Canada. In the Supreme Court of Canada’s 1997 decision in Delgamuukw v British Columbia, the majority judges noted that, while the rights of Indigenous title holders in that jurisdiction are not limited to engagement in activities which are aspects of practices, customs, and traditions integral to the claimant group’s distinctive Indigenous culture, lands held by Aboriginal title cannot be used in a manner that is irreconcilable with the nature of the claimants’ attachment to those lands.

So, for example, tribal hunting areas may not be “strip mined” or, so it would seem, “hunted out” or “fished out” in a large-scale commercial operation. Contrast this with small-scale trading between local Indigenous people and others, for which there is some historical and anthropological evidence in Australia and elsewhere.

There are important legal differences between the doctrines of Aboriginal title in Canada and Australia, but there are also some important similarities which indicate that these Canadian developments might in the future be of relevance in Australia. Of course, it is also important in Australia to note that the Commonwealth Native Title Act moderates but does not destroy the capacity of the States and Territories to regulate the exercise of native title rights along with other rights, as in fishing, conservation, and safety legislation which might apply equally to Indigenous and non-Indigenous people alike.

“Jim Turnour says this is a racial issue,” Colin Riddell says. “You know, I’m disgruntled as well. You know what I do. I tell you what, I’m begging people to vote for Warren Entsch in and get rid of Jimmy,” he says.

See the shocking video here…

 

WARNING:  THIS VIDEO CONTAINS DISTURBING ANIMAL CRUELTY WHICH MAY OFFEND.  WE INCLUDE IT TO PORTRAY THE REALITY OF AUSTRALIA’S TREATMENT OF TURTLES AND DUGONGS IN THE NAME OF ‘TRADITIONAL HUNTING’

[Source:  ‘Cairns turtle and dugong activist campaigns against slaughter caught on video’, by Michael Moore’s Cairns.blog.net, 20100410, ^http://www.cairnsblog.net/2010/04/cairns-turtle-and-dugong-activist.html]

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A species completely at our mercy

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Ed: 

1. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority has been aware, so is complicit, immoral, incompetent and so entire Board should now be immediately sacked, and any government employee (rangers or otherwise found to have been in anyway involved with the killing of Dungongs or Turtles or trading in their body parts.
2. The killing of Dungongs or Turtles in Australia is to be immediately policed and investigated jointly by the Australian Government, whatever the causes of the deaths
3. The Australian Government needs to amend Australia’s Native Title Act 1993 and Australian Crimes Act 1914 to make any cruelty toward any wildlife in Australia and its territories a criminal act under Australian Crimes Act.  Traditional Hunting that involves cruelty is to be outlawed.  It is Commercial Exploitation of Traditional Hunting and Fishing Rights.
   

An horrific life, a bleak future

It is 2012

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References and Further Reading

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[1]    The Great Barrier Reef inscription on the UNESCO’s World Heritage List, ^http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/154

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[2]   Australian Goverenment   ^http://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/places/world/great-barrier-reef/values.html

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[3]   Great Barrier Reef   ^http://www.greatbarrierreef.org/great-barrier-reef-facts.php

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[4]   The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority   ^http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/

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[5]  ‘Three kilometres of Great Barrier Reef damage, 20 years to mend‘, by Tom Arup, The Age newspaper, 20100414, ^http://www.theage.com.au/environment/three-kilometres-of-great-barrier-reef-damage-20-years-to-mend-20100413-s7p8.html

“It could take 20 years or more for the Great Barrier Reef to recover from three kilometres of destruction caused by the grounding of a Chinese coal ship, authorities have revealed.  The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority says the damage to the reef is significant, with large parts of Douglas Shoal “completely flattened” and marine life “pulverised”.

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[6]  ‘WWF Welcomes investigation into marine wildlife deaths‘, World Wildlife Fund, 2011, ^http://awsassets.wwf.org.au/downloads/pr252_wwf_welcomes_investigation_into_marine_wildlife_deaths_17jun11.pdf     [>Read Media Release] – that was last year.

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Australians Turtle Riding on Heron Island

Great Barrier Reef, 1938

[Source: © Queensland historical Atlas, ^http://www.qhatlas.com.au/category/keywords/great-barrier-reef]

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Prawns – an Australian favourite dish

[Source: http://rasamalaysia.com/butter-prawns/]

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Back in 1987 at the formative age of 23, the author worked ten days as a deck hand aboard a prawn trawler off the coast of Townsville in northern Queensland.

Those ten days formed the basis of what would contribute invaluably toward ultimately obtaining a year’s inshore sea time to qualify as a licensed commercial coxswain.  But those ten days are also vividly recalled of the experience of the work of a prawn trawler. For those ten days aboard the comparatively small 9.8 metre diesel trawler ‘Charada‘, Frank the skipper, his first mate and I trolled the sea floor along the north Queensland coastline between Townsville and Cape Bowling Green.

My Record of Service log confirms this, as my memory of twenty four years ago is not that acute.  My log shows that I later went on to work as a deckhand aboard mainly commercial tourist vessels after that.  So my only commercial fishing experience was that short stint aboard the Charada.

A prawn trawler similar to the ‘Charada’

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However, my memory remains vivid of the nightly three shifts we worked, commencing respectively at 9pm, midnight and 3am – hauling in the prawn catch after trawling the sea floor for three hours at a time.

But after tugging the net’s cod end knot, it was not just prawns that ended up on deck’s sorting tray.  Everything that lived along the sea floor was dragged into the net by the heavy chain that raked the sandy seabed.

Trawlers raking the sea bed

[Source: http://marksecology.blogspot.com/2011/04/big-fish-review-part-2.html]

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I recall the variety of creatures that were in the net, the fish, bugs, squids, the odd sting ray, sea snake and the sea urchins and marine sponges.  I recall one occasion when the skipper had had to shoot a shark with his .303 which had got caught up in the net.  I recall the marine sponges the most because of their strong seaweed like stench, and it was this stench in particular that caused me, a Victorian landlubber up until then, to become queasy.  I was sea sick by the smell more so than the motion of the boat.  I didn’t generally get sea sick.

For those ten days on that small trawler for three shifts a night, we raked the seabed of its marine life.  We only wanted the banana prawns which we sorted into white plastic tubs, covered with ice and snap frozen in the freezer down below.  The rest of the smelly marine creatures we tossed back overboard – dead.

I recall watching the depth sounder next to the boat’s wheel, displaying the colourful array of marine life activity (prawns).

But then later in the trip there were no colours, just a blank screen, so we headed back to Townsville.  The sea bed was just sand after our chain had dragged and raked the sea bottom.  Nothing was left alive.

Typical sea bed after trawling

Though hard manual labour and night shifts, the whole trawling process was pretty straight forward – head out to sea, throw the net over, trawl for three hours, haul in, sort the prawns from the rest, freeze ’em, then after the freezer was full head back in sell ’em and go to the pub.   A simple life.

That was my brief introduction to Queensland prawn trawling.  Yet looking back, the Charada was just one of hundreds of prawn trawlers that plied the Queensland coastline.  It was just ten days out of many years and decades of similar fishermen doing their trade since perhaps the 19th Century.  One must consider then how can there be any marine life left in Queensland inside the Great Barrier Reef?  At the age of twenty three I just accepted that trawling was a normal legitimate Queensland industry.  I hadn’t considered the environmental impact at the time. The work was there.

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For years the Queensland Fisheries Service (QFS) has assured that commercial prawn trawling has met strict environmental guidelines.  This has supported the prawn industry continuing to earn lucrative revenues from both domestic and export markets.  This has been reassuring, after all the World Heritage listed Great Barrier Reef is not far away.

In 2005, Queensland’s Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC) and Fisheries Queensland jointly funded a marine research project called ‘Reducing the impact of Queensland’s trawl fisheries on protected sea‘.  This research project measured the incidental catch and fishing mortality of sea snakes in the Queensland trawl fishery.

By 2008, the project had concluded that about 105,000 sea snakes were being caught annually in the fishery, with about 26% dying as a result. The effect of bycatch reduction devices (BRDs) on the catch rates of sea snakes and prawns was also evaluated, as part of the project.  One BRD in particular, known as the fisheye BRD, was highly effective at excluding sea snakes from trawl nets, with no reduction in prawn catch rates.  As a result of the project, trawler operators are now being encouraged to install fisheye BRDs in their nets to reduce their impacts on these protected snakes.’

[Source:  Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, ^http://www.dpi.qld.gov.au/28_5193.htm ]

Example of sea snakes caught in catch

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So all that unwanted marine life we had been throwing overboard the Charada was officially termed ‘bycatch‘.  Sea snakes are protected species in Australia and therefore measures need to be implemented to minimise commercial fishing impacts on them, plus the many other bycatch that may happened to be threatened and endangered.

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Then yesterday The Queensland Times reported the following article:

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‘Net fishing damaging marine life’

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[Source: ‘Net fishing damaging marine life’, The Queensland Times, 20110803,  ^http://www.qt.com.au/story/2011/08/03/net-fishing-damaging-marine-life-report/ , accessed 20110804]

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‘Trawler fishing is devastating slow growing marine life and damaging Australia’s oceans, a new report has found.

The study by environmental consultancy J Diversity has found that seafloor fishing and gill netting is “indiscriminate” in its impact on marine life.

Less than five per cent of Australian waters are protected from fishing and mining.  It found in the south-west marine region gill nets up to eight kilometres wide are decimating shark and ray species.

NT Environment Centre director Stuart Blanch said the practice of trawling is as destructive as the clear-felling of forests on land and “death nets” must not further damage feeding and breeding areas for marine life.

“Trawling is one of most indiscriminate fishing methods. It produces only two per cent of wild fish harvest but up to one third of its bycatch,” Dr Blanch said.

The report says the WA South Coast Shark Fishery and Great Australian Bight Trawl Fishery catch at least 34 and 50 shark and ray species but discard around one third of the catch.  It also says most Australian stocks have been fished to between 20 to 40 per cent of their unfished biomass, below the threshold of 75 per cent recommended by scientists to ensure fish stocks are conserved.  Gavan McFadzean from The Wilderness Society called on federal Environment Minister Tony Burke to rule out any move that would benefit seafloor trawling or gill net fishing in new marine sanctuaries.

“If the Minister allows these death nets into important feeding and breeding areas, he would undermine the government’s election commitment to improve protection of our marine life,” he said.

Brings back memories of my ten days on the prawn trawler

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Back in 1987, at age 23 I was clearly naive about what I was involved in, but governments and fisheries cannot feign naivety.

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Yesterday’s response comment  by ‘Atrax’ from Maroochydore is apt:

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“Gees it took a new megabucks report to tell you this?

We sure have some geniuses in the Australian Marine management departments.

Of course it damages marine habitat and spawning sites.

This has only been known for the last 50 years, they banned Scallop dredging in Port Phillip bay because of this 35 years ago.

The bycatch destroyed in purse seine and gill netting is mind blowing.

Just shows how useless the drones in these departments really are.”

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‘Satellite images reveal trawling damage’

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[by Robert Shikina, rshikina@starbulletin.com, ^http://archives.starbulletin.com/2008/02/25/news/story01.html, accessed 20110804]

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‘Bottom trawling, a fishing practice that involves dragging a net along the seabed behind a boat, causes extensive damage that can even be seen from space, a Hawaii scientist reports.

“There is a massive amount of mud that gets kicked up,” said Les Watling, a professor of zoology at the University of Hawaii.

He joined other scientists in a presentation on the problem last week in Boston at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Trawling is not a problem in the deep waters around Hawaii, since the method is used in waters less than about a mile deep, but areas where it is used sustain a significant loss of marine life, he said.  “It does more harm to the sea floor than any other kind of fishing, and now we have images from space showing how much sediment it lofts into the water column,” added Elliot Norse, president of Marine Conservation Biology Institute.

A University of Hawaii zoologist is among a group of scientists decrying the destructive effects of bottom trawling, a type of fishing, visible in satellite images from space.  “We’re hoping that people will have a look,” said Les Watling, a professor of zoology at the University of Hawaii. “There is a massive amount of mud that gets kicked up.”

The satellite images of mud trails kicked up by bottom trawling are available on the Web site www.skytruth.org, inside the gallery and labeled as “trawling impacts.”

Watling, who has been working for about 15 years on limiting the effects of trawling, added that 99 percent of the areas that are trawled cannot be seen by a satellite.  He was a panelist in a session that discussed the effects from bottom trawling at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science this month in Boston.  Since trawling cannot be done in waters deeper than 6,500 feet, it is not a problem around Hawaii, but in areas where it is used, there is usually a significant loss of marine life, scientists say.  Trawling equipment can be about 150 feet across and weigh half a ton. In its wake the trawling nets leave nothing but rubble, killing sponges and coral on the sea floor.  Bottom trawling is used to catch shrimp and other bottom fish such as cod.

“Trawling removes much of the life from the sea floor,” said Elliot Norse, president of Marine Conservation Biology Institute, who participated in the session.

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“The effect is basically to denude the sea floor.”

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He said bottom trawling catches more unwanted fish and does more harm to the sea floor than any other kind of fishing. The sediment disturbing the water column can also clog fish gills, possibly reintroduce absorbed carbon into the water and kick up toxic materials that have settled to the bottom, Norse said.

“Now we have images from space showing how much sediment it lofts into the water column,” he said. “Not just affecting the sea floor, it also affects the water column.”

Ten years ago, Norse and Watling completed a study that found bottom trawling covers an area the size of the continental United States every year.  John Amos, president of skytruth.org, used the detail in satellite images from Google Earth to discern the fishing vessels creating the squiggly sediment trails from bottom trawling. He gathered satellite images from the U.S. Geological Survey of fishers using bottom trawling in the Gulf of Mexico and China.

“I think that what’s exciting about this imagery is it’s one of the few examples where we can provide people with visual truth of what we’re doing to the oceans,” Amos said. “Imagery from space can actually show what we’re doing to the bottom of the ocean floor. When you show people images they understand, they get it in ways that thousands of pages of reports doesn’t quite communicate.”
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– end of article –

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