Yes! We Agree… 

Create Collaroy Basin Sanctuary
Protect the Northern Rock Platform at Long Reef – Create Collaroy Basin Sanctuary - A Small No-Take Sanctuary Zone

UPDATE 1/5/26

The avoid confusion, the Change.org promotion feature is now disabled. 

Please use this GoFundMe link:   gofund.me/e5ece64b3   where donations will directly support this important cause. Thank you for your support!

Good morning!
We are Friends of Collaroy Basin Sanctuary,

We call on the NSW Government, Department of Primary Industries (Fisheries) and Northern Beaches Council to create Collaroy Basin Sanctuary — a small no-take sanctuary zone on the northern rock platform at Long Reef.

Why we need this – quick points

•  Tiny ~435 metre section from near Ocean Grove Street (including Crocodile Rock) north to the Collaroy rock pool and 100 metre distance in the ocean
•  Vital fish nursery for juvenile bream, luderick, snapper, baby sharks and stingrays
•  Popular family swimming and snorkelling spot where hooks are often lost on submerged rocks
•  Will rebuild the food chain and create natural spillover — more fish for the wider area, just like Shelley Beach has shown since it became a full no-take sanctuary in 2002, the only such zone on the Northern Beaches
•  Addresses visible decline: bare rocks that once had thick cunjevoi and far fewer invertebrates
•  Amateur fishing – lost hooks that are not dissolvable
•  Supports the NSW Government that is currently preparing for an anticipated review of marine protected areas in our coastal state waters. This is a critical opportunity to expand protection, but the government will only act if they hear strong support for marine sanctuaries.

The bigger picture

Long Reef Aquatic Reserve is still only partially protected, even though it was created in 1980. Across Australia, 75% of marine protected areas offer only partial protection and deliver almost no extra benefit for marine life. Fully protected no-take zones have 30% more fish species and more than double the fish biomass.
This was clearly explained by Dr John Turnbull (UNSW Sydney, co-chair at the recent Marine Park Forum) in The Conversation article “75% of Australia’s marine protected areas are given only ‘partial’ protection. Here’s why that’s a problem” (15 Jan 2021):

https://theconversation.com/75-of-australias-marine-protected-areas-are-given-only-partial-protection-heres-why-thats-a-problem-149452

Local experts Phil Colman and Peter Mitchell, authors of A Field Guide to the Marine Life of Coastal Reefs and Rock Pools, have documented the rich marine life of this platform for decades. Their work is supported by the Sydney Institute of Marine Science (SIMS) at Chowder Bay — a collaborative research partnership between Macquarie University, UNSW Sydney, University of Sydney, and UTS.

This is not about banning fishing

We honour Australian fishing culture and responsible local fishers. Our proposal is tiny and targeted — it leaves the boat ramp, main headland and primary fishing rock platforms untouched. It will actually help future-proof fishing by restoring the nursery and creating more fish through spillover, just like Shelley Beach.

We also want

• Better signage, education and Council support to develop a willing community voluntary Citizen Rangers programme to help Fisheries stop poaching that continues at low tides
• Stronger enforcement of existing rules that includes language translations (evidence of continued poaching from those claiming they don’t speak English)

Yes! We Agree… Create Collaroy Basin

Yes! We Agree… 

Create Collaroy Basin Sanctuary

Please sign and share this petition. Together, we can protect this special place before it’s too late. 

Please use this GoFundMe link:   gofund.me/e5ece64b3   to support this cause

Friends of Collaroy Basin Sanctuary

@collaroy.basin.sanctuary