<
https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/8221485/macquarie-island-marine-park-set-to-triple-in-size/>
'Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek has rejected an application for fisheries
to trawl through the new Macquarie Island Marine Park.
The federal government is set to triple the size of the park after Ms Plibersek
signed off on a final design for the expansion on Monday, which will allow two
fisheries to continue operating.
The department will provide the fisheries with more room than they were
previously allowed, however their application to trawl in the area has been
rejected.
"They won't be doing that now and they certainly won't be doing that in the
future," Ms Plibersek told reporters in Sydney on Monday.
The department received more than 14,000 public responses to the proposal and
only a handful opposed the addition, Ms Plibersek said.
The park covers 162,000 square kilometres halfway between Tasmania and
Antarctica, and will grow to cover 475,465sq km.
The park's expansion is about protecting the oceans for future generations, she
said.
"This announcement is part of our mission to conserve Australia's special
places, particularly those that are home to threatened species.
"Macquarie Island is an exceptional place - it's a remote wildlife wonderland,
a critical breeding ground for millions of seabirds, seals and penguins," she
said.
Its residents include rockhopper penguins, the subantarctic fur seal, with
large southern elephant seal populations also calling the area home.'
Via
Guardian Australia
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
