Anglers, boat owners, divers and the wider community all need to play a constructive role in the proposed conservation zones around Australia's coastline. Development of Bioregional Profiles for Australia's eastern, northern and western coastlines is part of the development of a Bioregional Plan for all Australian Commonwealth Waters. A large amount of misinformation has derailed constructive community consultation. The reality is only small areas will be restircited to fishing and other activities that may have a high impact. The aim of the process is to protect a portion of the key types of ecosystem. If you can imagine the ocean divided into the sea floor, reefs, water column between the reefs and near the surface, and the water column just below the surface; the aim is to protect key habitats and species populations within each of these key ecosystems. This means while activities that could impact on the seafloor in an area may be restricted, the remaining parts of the water column could be open to activities such as fishing and spearfishing. That is why the community must be involved in constructive consultation processes, instead of continuing political positioning that many groups have adopted without success. To be part of Pacific Marinelife Institute's consultation, register here.
