The Western Australian Fisheries Minister, Norman Moore is warning the Federal Government not to introduce large scale marine exclusion zones along the West Australian coast.
The Commonwealth is planning a network of marine parks in its waters all along the WA coast, which could also include no access sanctuaries.
Mr Moore is concerned the changes could put some fishermen out of business and Canberra is yet to outline a compensation plan. "I'd rather fishers weren't displaced because what that means is you're putting people out of business. It's like saying to a farmer look you can't grow wheat anymore because we've decided we want your land for some other purpose, so there will have to be compensation if they displace fishers, but we've got no idea how much that will be." he said.
"People are employed in the industry, there are other companies involved that provide things like boats and nets and other requirements of the industry and when you start closing them down for no good reason then it has a very adverse affect on the industry and communities that support it." he added.
The Federal Environment Minister Tony Burke announced the draft boundaries on 6 May. Under the proposal each reserve would be designated as either a national park, multiple use or special purpose zone. About 40% of the area from the Abrolhos Islands in WA to Kangaroo Island in South Australia will be included in the reserves. Just over 20% of the area is proposed to be protected in Marine National Park zones, with the remaining 19% to be included in multiple-use or special purpose zones.
The Environment Minister Tony Burke says the Government consulted with a number of stakeholders over two years to set the sanctuary areas. "I believe the draft proposal that is being put forward today does provide that right balance of taking into account the impact of communities, the impact on the econonmy and doing so in a way that allows iconic environmental protection to take place, even though it's under water," he said.
Mr Burke says the government will consult with industry over compensation for businesses affected by proposed new marine sanctuaries. "You have the policy in place, as to what will be provided - we'll now work out with industry exactly what level will be required. You can't start with a dollar amount before you sit down with industry and say what would the adjustment should be."
Tim Nichol from the Conservation Council says he fears marine sanctuary boundaries in the state's south west won't go far enough to protect key feeding and breeding areas. He says environmentalists have outlined a number of hot spots along the coast that require better protection, including the Abrolhos Islands and Geographe Bay. "Like Geographe Bay, like the canyon offshore from Perth and deep ocean environments like the Diamantina Fracture Zone off of Albany.
These are places where our marine life is concentrated and protecting those areas is absolutely essential to the future health of our oceans. There is now a strong science consensus around the need to protect these critical areas in our oceans and we are really urging the Federal Government to take note of that science consensus and make sure that the proposal that they release today is adequate to protect our marine life."