Revocation of grey nurse shark protections at Fish Rock and Green Island:
• The Grey Nurse Shark is rated as critically endangered on the east coast of NSW under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act 1999) and also by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
• Fish Rock and Green Island are declared Critical Habitat for the Grey Nurse Shark. It is considered hypocritical to allow species threatening activities in the shark’s Critical Habitat.
• Bansemer and Bennett have already conducted a study which showed conclusively that Fish Rock is the greatest aggregation point for the grey nurse shark on the east coast of NSW.(Bansemer C.S. & Bennett M.B., 2010)
• Bansemer and Bennett also showed that this aggregation spot was the site where evidence of external hooking was most frequently observed.
• Robins and Peddemors completed their study which unequivocally proved grey nurse sharks will take baits readily at Fish Rock and have interactions with jigs before the review of the science began.(Robbins W. & Peddemors V., 2010)
• There is not one peer-reviewed scientific paper in the world which says grey nurse sharks do not take fish baits.
• The revocation of the protections for three (3) months while a review of the science, social and commercial effects of the restrictions on fishing with bait, live bait and jigs was carried out began April, 29, 2011.
• Submissions were invited in late May, 2011 with the submission period to conclude August, 26, 2011 giving a revocation period of four months, not three as promised.
• However Fisheries then intend to carry out a review of the submissions received and conduct targeted stakeholder meetings along the east coast of NSW which will not be completed before Christmas and the parliamentary recess.
• This will leave the critically endangered species to suffer at least 8 months, probably a full year of hooking with disastrous results on its potential for survival unless the protections are returned in August.
• The Federal legislation has several definitions of the precautionary principle including, “Where there are threats of serious or irreversible environmental damage, a lack of full scientific certainty should not be used as a reason for postponing cost effective measures to prevent environmental degradation.”
• However in this case there already was scientific certainty. To remove protections for a critically endangered species in defiance of the Government’s own science before carrying out a review of that science is incorrect scientific method and against the precautionary principle.
• To extend that review and the revocation of the scientifically approved protections for the species past the three months as promised is morally, ethically and scientifically indefensible.
• NCEC calls upon the NSW Government, in the absence of any scientific proof that the critically endangered Grey Nurse Shark will not be severely impacted by continued fishing at Fish Rock and Green Island, to not only restore the protections revoked but to increase the protection zone to 1500 metres as recommended by Otway (DPI) and others, and to remove fishing with plastics and all subsurface lures from the list of permitted uses.
