Page 3584 - Week 11 - Thursday, 16 November 2006
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Australia has a disgraceful record of mismanagement when it comes to marine fisheries. There has been a threefold increase in the number of commonwealth fisheries classified as “overfished” in the past 10 years. Figures published by the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics, or ABARE, have consistently shown close to zero net returns in most commonwealth fisheries over the past several years.
Many fisheries are currently on the verge of economic collapse. A good article on the ABC’s science home page reports:
Collectively, humans have managed to remove 90 per cent of predatory fish from the oceans …
Imagine walking into a butcher shop in Australia and seeing steaks made from tiger, mince made from rhino or cutlets prepared from tender bilby haunches. If ever such rare or endangered species were so blatantly displayed for sale it would cause a public outrage.
But fish species of similar rarity and of a similar risk of extinction are being sold at fish markets and cafes around Australia.
It is deplorable that organised, and probably unorganised, criminals are targeting abalone. In 2004 alone Department of Primary Industries fisheries officers on the south coast seized more than 11,800 abalone destined for the black market. We must not lose sight of the fact that a large proportion of those illegally traded abalone ended up satisfying demand from either unsuspecting or undiscerning consumers. As with the drug trade, demand is what drives this problem.
I encourage the government to investigate other measures that can be taken to educate consumers about other marine species at risk. One measure would be to assist in distributing the material put out by the Australian Marine Conservation Society. This sustainable seafood pamphlet is a handy wallet-sized reference guide to choosing more sustainably harvested seafood. If members would like a copy, drop into my office next week and pick one up—or pick up two or more and give one to your friends, especially those who are fond of eating seafood. Or, better still, make sure that your fish shop has them available on the counter. I seek leave to table this document.
Leave granted.
DR FOSKEY: I present the following paper:
Sustainable seafood—3 step pocket guide, produced by the Australian Marine Conservation Society.
I would also like to see the ACT government investigate ways to restrict the sale of endangered and threatened marine organisms in ACT shops, either by itself or through intergovernmental agreements. But as with renewable energy and biodiversity conservation measures, do not wait for, or rely on, the federal government to act responsibly. They will only ever be dragged down that path when focus groups and
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