We’ve had an incredibly strong response to this petition with over 500 of you signing in just 10 days. Thank you so much for your support! We’ll keep the petition going to see if we can get to 1,000 supporters.
Meanwhile we will start preparing our letter to the Minister, which we will show you for comment before we approve it to send.
Why are we asking for a buffer zone?
Marine parks are the centrepiece of our State’s biodiversity strategy. DEECA states that marine parks 'complement our land-based parks and reserves system, which is an integral part of our way of life and economy.' They are described in Protecting Victoria’s Environment – Biodiversity 2037 as 'the backbone of biodiversity conservation' and 'need to be enhanced'.
- We do not believe that additional Victorian Fisheries Authority (VFA) officers will make any difference as many of the offences are frequent, occur at night, or very early or late in the day. It is highly unlikely that a permanent patrol boat and staff will be given to every marine park in the state;
- The values of these parks, which represent only 5% of our coastline, are so significant that a single illegal fisher could do significant damage to the enhancement and recovery of the park’s ecosystem and that this affects our lives and the Victorian economy;
- That fishing right up to the boundary of the marine park is having the same impact and that both VFA and Parks Victoria are responsible and neither have offered up any reasonable solution to this obvious threat; and
- It’s clear from remarks made about our parks by some fishers, that further education and information will not remove these threats [Read 'Stick your parks up your arse'].
DEECA is responsible for compliance, not VFA
The Ricketts Point Marine Sanctuary Management Plan refers to:
- Compliance with legislated provisions that prohibit all extractive activities, including fishing, and shellfish collection, will be ensured through education, information, community support, and improved surveillance and enforcement [these ‘soft’ provisions are failing dismally].
- A Statewide Compliance Strategy and a Regional Compliance Plan [City and Bays Regional Compliance Plan] have been developed in partnership with Fisheries Victoria (VFA) – Department of Primary Industries (now DEECA) to manage compliance with the no-fishing provisions within the sanctuary.
- Although Parks Victoria is responsible for overall management of the sanctuary, other agencies are responsible for planning, managing or regulating certain activities.
- Fisheries Victoria (VFA) has primary responsibility for enforcement but not compliance.
Ultimately DEECA is responsible for managing compliance, while VFA are given the role of enforcement.
Read: Why we aren't petitioning Victorian Fishing Authority (VFA)
What do we want changed?
There is an existing precedent for buffer zones under the National Parks Act 1975 and National Parks (Park) Regulations 2003.
We are requesting a buffer zone around the boundary of the park to further protect its values.