WDCS Press Release: Another whale entangled
WDCS calls for a comprehensive review of fishing interactions in Australian waters 21/08/02, 1.30pm Australian EST.

WDCS has today called for an urgent comprehensive review of fishing activities that can interfere with cetaceans (whales, dolphin and porpoises) after Monday's entanglement of a whale in South Australia.

There have been 4 documented incidences of whales being caught in fishing gear of various types in the past 16 months. In May 2001, a humpback whale calf became entangled in the nets off the Gold Coast and died while its 20 plus tonne mother looked on.

Margi Prideaux, Australian Coordinator for WDCS said today that "the current legislative system is failing us, for no other reason than management decisions are being made in the absence of information. The potential threats that might be posed by various fishing and aquaculture activities are not properly documented, and both State and Federal Governments need to review the fishing interactions that might pose as a threat."

WDCS acknowledges that significant changes have taken place in fisheries management in the past three years, and conservation assessments are being conducted on all Commonwealth fisheries, although WDCS remains concerned that the assessments don’t have the appropriate information on which to base decisions in relation to marine mammals.

WDCS has consistently called for a new Marine Mammal Protection Act to address these areas. We don’t believe the current Commonwealth or State legislation can adequately assess and act on impacts to cetaceans. This Act should address in detail the full range of threats experienced by cetaceans in Australian waters including fisheries interaction, noise and chemical pollution and ship strikes.

It should also provide increased powers to the Environment Minister to oversee and regulate the release of acreage, under the Petroleum and Submerged Lands Act, over known important cetacean habitat in both Commonwealth and State marine areas. And, should also address and regulate the base conditions of industry activity and the granting of permits when not considered a controlled action by the Commonwealth Environment Minister.

There are immediate ways that crucial data can be gathered. A greater coverage of observers on boats in all fishing sectors should be considered by all Fisheries Management Agencies. A more consistent effort with cetacean strandings in all States would also ensure that valuable data was gathered on the causes of the strandings. Assessments could then be made on those animals that become entangled and stranded, and those that strand for other reasons, because of noise pollution or poor health for instance.

WDCS also considers that the Oceans Policy Regional Marine Plans should incorporate the cumulative impacts that these animals face – including noise from vessels, oil and gas exploration, chemical pollution and fisheries interactions. "We are not suggesting that any one industry is the ‘bad guy’ and we acknowledge that there are good operators out there, but the system doesn’t currently support proper decisions being made in light of these cumulative effects."

What we currently know is likely just scratching the surface. "The Federal Governments own Action plan for Australian Cetaceans' lists entanglement in fishing gear as a current threat for Southern Right Whales. Its time to do something about this and WDCS calls on State and Federal Governments to commence an immediate review of fishing activities to assess threats and mitigation."

For media comment or more information WDCS Australia
Margi Prideaux Telephone: +61 (0)8 8242 5842
WDCS Marine Mammal Protection Act Breif

An Australian Marine Mammal Protection Act
Australia needs to urgently develop and introduce a Marine Mammal Protection Act that specifically:

• Addresses in detail the full range of threats experienced by cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porposies) in Australian waters including fisheries interaction, pollution and ship strikes
• Provides increased powers to the Environment Minister to oversee and regulate the release of acreage, under the Petroleum and Submerged Lands Act, over important cetacean habitat in both Commonwealth and State Marine areas
• Addresses and regulates the base conditions of industry activity and the granting of permits when not considered a controlled action by the Environment Minister, providing for a full public comment period on the development of these conditions.

Justification
Most of Australia’s coastline is home to populations of dolphins, whales and porpoises. Australians remain resolutely against commercial whaling and there is almost universal agreement in this country that these animals should be highly protected, but despite decades of campaigning the commercial whale hunt goes on.

While we may feel contented in Australia with our strong stand against high seas whaling, our own dolphin and whale populations are also facing human introduced threats from climate change, ozone depletion, chemical and sound pollution, habitat loss, interaction with commercial fisheries and harassment from tourism.

Many of these threats are the same ones that are damaging the general marine environment. Foundations of policy exist to deal with elements of these threats, but Australia lacks a Marine Mammal Protection Act that can be used to mitigate all the threats to all marine mammals - whales, dolphins, porpoise, seals, sea-lions and dugongs.

Current legislation is limited because it requires a species to be recognised as threatened with extinction before action can take place. It cannot deal with populations about which we know nothing or even those threatened with "localised extinction", such as Adelaide’s Port River dolphins.

In 1996 the Cetacean Action Plan recommended uniform or complimentary legislation around the country. It is critical that Australia develops legislation to build on the existing, the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, which prohibits killing, injuring, taking, capturing or interfering with cetaceans in Australian waters, but has not been able to adequately address wider environmental threats – including the long term and cumulative impacts, as well as improve the reporting of strandings, the collection and sharing of data or to provide for better reporting enforcement of accidental catches in fisheries.

As the tourism industry around ‘whale watching’ grows in Australia it is important that any new legislation also includes national accreditation of dolphin and whale watch industries around the country.

Unification of the legislation under a Marine Mammal Protection Act would provide mechanisms that could force polluting industries to clean up their act, fisheries to mitigate against capture, petroleum and gas to ensure their operation will have no impact; and the ability to prosecute industries that refused to comply. Our legislation right now forces us to wait until it’s too late before we can bring pressure to bear.