Much to the dismay of genuine conservationists, the Government of Victoria, Australia has passed legislation in support of over 20 inappropriately planned 'marine national parks and marine sanctuaries'. The 'marine national parks' are concentrated in prime fishing zones, are isolated from each other and have neither individual nor linking management plans. All areas are no-take with access reserved for divers, bird watchers and power boats etc. Ironically, the Victorian fisheries are shown to be healthy and sustainable (some are assessed as the best they have been in 40 years). 

A similarly structured reference area, the Bunurong Marine National Park where fishing has been banned for over 20 years, shows no benefit from no-take provisions. Indeed, there is some concern that the ecosystem has possibly been upset by this status to the point where there is a marked imbalance in species.

If you think that this looks like the influence of the animal rights anti-fishing lobby then you are right. Victoria is now the only State in Australia where fishing is completely excluded from all marine parks. 

It is very interesting to review the strategies involved in arriving at this bizarre result. 

Over a long period of time through apparently deliberate maneuvers, the relevant State Government Departments have become progressively more dominated by green ideologists. Taking advantage of preferential access, those Departments, assisted by ideologically driven support groups and zealot ministerial advisers, then supplied the Ministers, politicians and the media with a constant flow of propaganda. The situation was compounded by the extensive resources that were ploughed into the green lobby groups. Money was made available through political intervention at the highest level, to import overseas scientists who were compromised through their receipt of incomplete and biased briefs. These scientists, whilst prepared to give well founded praise to the excellent multi-use Australian Great Barrier Marine Park were persuaded to support the totally different and inappropriate Victorian 'highly protected' legislation. When well respected Australian marine scientists from both the Federal and State arenas, questioned the Victorian policy their input was ignored and degraded. Meanwhile, pop singers and the like, were given free access to the media to air their support.

The recreational angling peak body advising Government remained under Government control and was unable to effectively pursue its charter, to represent the concerns of all recreational anglers. 

A cruel plan of deception was foisted upon stakeholders through a flawed public consultation process. Some 4,500 written submissions were taken and numerous consultation meetings were held. No minutes were taken at any of the meetings and the 4,500 submissions, together with the 14,500 other written protests, were discounted. This process was widely touted as genuine consultation despite no independent scientific audit of the final recommendations - the "children were left in charge of the chocolate factory!" 

The preferential voting system that operates in Australia, was used to advantage by the green lobbyists to trade their closely controlled and relatively small numbers of votes (around 5 per cent of the total votes) to secure support from the politicians in exchange for directing their preferences at election time. The recommendations accepted by the Government were political and served no purpose towards conservation of the marine habitat and biodiversity - the final legislation reflected this whereby the only monitoring was for fish stocks, with most species being largely pelagic, from other states, and dependant upon cyclical weather patterns!

It would come as no surprise to learn that the green extremists avow to continue the process with the aim of expanding the marine parks from the present 5 per cent of the total Victorian coastline to 20 per cent. This is ominous, because the parks are commonly located in accessible, prime inshore fishing areas where safety concerns are minimal. If this 20 per cent objective is to be realized, then recreational angling for the average person would no longer be a consideration. Unfortunately, 'sustainable use of resources' does not seem to be in the vocabulary of the ideologists.

Naturally, the anti-fishing lobby is happy with the way things are going. Unfortunately, the end result alienates major stakeholders and in imposing such nonsense, does nothing to address the main issues affecting the marine environment. Many of us believe, with good reason, that the marine parks of Victoria in their present form, can do nothing either to protect the degrading marine eco-systems of the coastal waters or even to maintain the present level of bio-diversity. When extremists dictate conservation policy then we are all the losers.