ACRS submission on the Commonwealth marine reserve management planning process
The current Federal Government Review of the Commonwealth Marine Reserve offers the ideal opportunity to redress these deficiencies in the management plans and thus improve the protection of Australia’s marine environment and standing as a world leader in marine conservation. It is heartening to see the proposed addition of three new MNPZ adjacent to the GBRMP, however the proposed reduction and fragmentation of the existing MNPZ’s in the Coral Sea and the opening of Rowley Shoals to commercial fishing is disappointing, represents a major backward step, and has no scientific grounding.
