New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research abstracts

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Marine protected areas in Australia: towards a coordinated rock lobster industry position

Neil Stump

School of Geography and Environmental Studies
University of Tasmania, Hobart
Locked Bag 78 GPO Hobart
TAS 7001, Australia
email: nestump@postoffice.utas.edu.au

Abstract  Plans by government to accelerate the establishment of a national representative system of marine protected areas (NRSMPAs) in Australia have caused increasing disquiet within the fishing industry. Rock lobster fishers have raised concerns regarding plans to establish large “multiple-use” MPAs that may or may not contain a substantial no-take component in the continental shelf waters adjacent to the coast. Key industry concerns including the potential impacts on present and future harvest rates are examined. The industry response to government MPA policy in each of the major jurisdictions is outlined. An industry position developed at the National Rock Lobster Congress in Perth, Western Australia (September 2003) is put forward. The position advocates the need for an adjustment scheme to account for displaced effort, the need for government commitment to the development of management plans that include the long-term monitoring of all MPAs, and the need for a thorough risk assessment process to be conducted before the establishment of an MPA. The issues raised in this paper should be relevant to the establishment of MPAs in an international context.

Keywords  marine protected areas; rock lobster fisheries; impacts on harvest rates; structural adjustment

M04080; Online publication date 8 June 2005 Received 31 March 2004; accepted 29 September 2004
New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research, 2005, Vol. 39: 765-774 0028-8330/05/3903-0765 © The Royal Society of New Zealand 2005

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