Time running out for Grey Nurse Sharks - 21 November 2007

Reforms necessary to save the endangered Grey Nurse sharks have been slow to arrive in the NSW Ocean Trap and Line Fishery under Ian Macdonald – Minister for Primary Industries - with only 2 new sites fully protected out of a total target of 16.

“The NSW Government failed to meet a Friday 16 November deadline to protect all of the marine areas identified by experts as critical for recovery of the Grey Nurse,” said Upper House Greens MP Ian Cohen.

“The Administrative Appeals Tribunal recognised last month that the Grey Nurse Shark is at dire risk of extinction, so it’s very disappointing that Ian Macdonald has failed to take the comprehensive action required for conservation.

“The conservation movement have identified 16 known areas in NSW waters where the Grey Nurse feeds and breeds that require a 1500m area closed to fishing if the shark is to have any chance of surviving.

“Last week in a press release headlining with ‘Greater Protection for grey nurse sharks’, Ian Macdonald announced that just two of the 16 sites would be protected to a level deemed adequate by environment NGO’s. They are the Magic Point aggregation site at Maroubra and another site at Green Island near South West Rocks.

“Clearly it’s more than a little cynical of the Minister to describe action that fully protects less than 13% of critical Grey Nurse habitat as ‘greater protection’ for a shark that’s on the brink of extinction.

“The Grey Nurse is a magnificent species that deserves protection. The Minister needs to implement the measures recommended by the Administrative Appeals tribunal on the 18th October 2007,” said Mr Cohen.

Further Information: Ian Cohen: 0409 989 466

Notes to editors:
The grey nurse shark population in eastern Australia is under serious threat. Its abundance in NSW and Queensland waters declined dramatically prior to 1984 because it was killed in large numbers by hook and line, and spear fishing. Since then numbers have not recovered despite being protected and they have continued to die mainly as a result of accidental catch by hook and line fishers, in bather protection nets, and due to illegal fishing and spear fishing. Since the introduction of the grey nurse shark critical habitat areas in 2002, grey nurse sharks are still being observed with hooks and line in their mouths within these locations.