Australia: Call for more marine parks

9News 12 Sep 11;

Australia needs extra marine parks and increased fish stocks to protect ocean ecosystems from the effects of climate change such as acidity and rising temperatures, a think tank says.

The Centre for Policy Development, releasing its report on marine economy security, says failure to act will risk 9000 direct jobs in commercial fishing and a marine tourism industry worth $11 billion a year.

Ocean ecosystems add an extra $25 billion to the national economy each year including $15.8 billion a year in carbon storage, the report says.

The report, released on Monday, says sea grasses store 10 to 40 times as much carbon per hectare as forests and Australia's sea-grass meadows are the largest in the world.

Oceans also provide $6.2 billion a year in pest and disease control services in fisheries, as well as $1.85 billion per year of benefits in recreational fishing, it said.

Researchers looked at the south-western region of Western Australia as a case study and found the region provided an extra $435 million a year in value than official figures showed.

The report said extending a proposed marine protection area to cover coastal shelf, sea grass and coral reefs could protect a further $1.1 billion in economic benefits.

Report co-author Laura Eadie said the short-term costs of taking action should be put aside to reap the long-term benefits.

"In a world of increased competition for resources and rapid environmental change, it makes economic sense to protect the asset base of the marine economy," Ms Eadie said in a statement.

Marine survey uncovers a deep sea treasure trove
Andrew Darby Hobart Sydney Morning Herald 12 Sep 11;

WHAT price nature? When it comes to adding up the ecological benefits to Australia of its huge marine domain, the first serious stab at a value is $25 billion.

While marine industries such as fishing, oil and gas exploration and marine tourism have long been accounted for, ecosystems themselves have been ignored, a report released today says.

Building on UN Environment Program biodiversity assessments, the Sydney Centre for Policy Development has counted up the worth of nature hidden beneath the sea's surface.

The greatest single value lay in the ocean's use as a carbon sink. Using the Gillard government's proposed $23 per tonne carbon price, the centre estimated Australia's marine domain to be worth $15.8 billion. In the report, Stocking Up: Securing Our Marine Economy, the centre's research director, Laura Eadie, said small but relatively intensive carbon sinks such as coastal seagrass beds and coral reefs could be worth $79 per hectare. Open ocean, which makes up most of the 10.2 million square kilometre marine territory counted in the report, was worth much less as a sink at $9 per hectare.

The report also calculated dollar values of the oceans to the economy in recreational fisheries, providing ''nursery'' services to fish, and in disease control.

Ms Eadie said that as the first ecosystem service valuation study done for a whole sector of the environment, conservative estimates had been made and true values were likely to be much larger. She said the study shone a light on the marine economy as a whole, before rising pressures such as greater global food demand, and ecosystem disruption caused by climate change.

''This report shows the clear economic benefits of protecting our marine economy through sensible measures like establishing marine parks and setting targets to increase fish stocks.''

It comes at what the Environment Minister, Tony Burke, says is a once-in-a-generation chance to protect the marine environment.

Marine plans covering the waters around most of the coastline are to be settled before the end of next year. The report said stronger protections in these waters could set Australia up to benefit at a time when global fisheries were being depleted.

''If global fishing continues unabated … the value of commercial fish production from sustainably managed Australian fisheries could increase by 42 per cent, to $3.3 billion per year,'' it said.

The National Seafood Industry Alliance said Australia already had more waters in marine reserves than the international target of 10 per cent by 2020.

However, in a dire assessment of global fisheries, a group of international marine scientists concluded there is a persuasive argument for shutting down all deep sea fisheries. Rapid serial collapses of these fisheries resemble mining operations rather than sustainable fishing, said the US scientist Elliott Norse in the journal Marine Policy.

''Ending deep sea fisheries would be particularly appropriate for the high seas outside the [exclusive economic zones] of maritime countries, where fisheries from a few countries are harming the biodiversity that is a vital interest for all of humankind.''

Seagrass 'stores $79 per ha of carbon'
Belinda Cranston AAP news.com.au 13 Sep 11;

THEY'VE been quietly storing carbon dioxide for decades without causing a fuss or charging anyone a cent for the privilege but Australia's seagrass beds are at risk of being destroyed by climate change, a think tank says.

Sea grasses store 10 to 40 times as much carbon per hectare as forests, and Australia's sea-grass meadows are the largest in the world, a report by the Centre for Policy Development says.

Considering the Gillard government wants to charge $23 per tonne of carbon emitted by Australia's biggest polluters, that would make Australia's coastal seagrass beds worth $79 per hectare, the report's authors added at its official launch today.

To some extent, the carbon has been absorbed without there being any damage to ecosystems, says Caroline Hoisington, co-author of Stocking Up: Securing our Marine Economy.

"A lot of biological systems in the ocean sequester carbon," she said at the launch of the report today.

"There is nothing wrong with that. It encourages growth.

"The problem is when there is so much carbon that it can't be sequestered, and it starts to change the chemistry of the water in the ocean, making it more acid, and that starts to inhibit coral growth, and that is a big worry."

For this reason, companies that emit carbon should not think of the ocean as a sink where it can be dumped.

"It's more about recognising the value that it has played so far," fellow report co-author Laura Eadie said.

Ocean ecosystems add an extra $25 billion to the national economy each year which is not accounted for in official figures, the report says.

These includes $15.8 billion a year in carbon storage.

It was also of concern that 29 per cent of the world's sea grass beds had vanished since 1879.

"Australia has the world's largest sea beds, but warming ocean temperatures have resulted in loss," Ms Eadie said.

In Western Australia, about 1,000 hectares of sea grass were lost after a particularly warm summer, Ms Hoisington added.

"That is likely to increase," she said.

Land based pollution had also contributed to the loss of the sea grass beds.

The report, Stocking Up: Securing Our Marine Economy, is the first in a series looking at how different sectors of Australia's economy can benefit from policies to preserve the environment and the resources that sustain them.

Aside from warning of a decline in the number of seagrass beds, the report recommended building up fish stocks and creating more marine parks to buffer ocean ecosystems from the climate change affects of acidity and rising temperatures.

Stocking Up: Securing Our Marine Economy http://cpd.org.au/2011/09/stocking-up/

Marine park argument makes little sense
David Lockwood Sydney Morning Herald 18 Sep 11;

A REPORT titled Stocking Up: Securing Our Marine Economy, from left-wing research organisation the Centre for Policy Development, reckons Australia's oceans and seas are worth $25 billion annually to the economy. But scratch below the surface and you'll find the maths is seriously flawed.

The contentious report, designed to justify the creation of a national network of marine protected areas (MPAs), attributes $15.8 billion a year in carbon storage to our three oceans and four seas.

The authors say seagrasses hold 10 to 40 times as much carbon per hectare as forests.
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The report then states: ''Australia's seagrass meadows are the largest in the world but none are slated to be covered by the proposed south-west marine park [which is between Kangaroo Island in South Australia and Shark Bay in Western Australia].''

Commonwealth waters generally start three nautical miles offshore.

It's deep and dark down there - the south-west area includes the Diamantina Fracture Zone, which plummets nearly six kilometres.

Seagrass grows in shallow light-penetrating estuaries. So wipe billions off their apparent economic justification for more MPAs for starters. But MPAs are coming.

The Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities says a proposed network of MPAs will include highly protected zones that will be ''managed to preserve the area in an undisturbed and unmodified condition, so extractive activities will not be permitted''.

That means more no-fishing zones are slated under the Gillard government, despite the national pastime being enjoyed by up to 7 million Australians. It might also mean no boating in some areas.

There is great concern among the boating and fishing industries. They believe the Greens have the federal government over a barrel.

A marine industry summit held in Brisbane in July found marine parks were among the top five issues hindering recreational boating. The summit report also said green politics was negatively impacting the industry and its image.

Meanwhile, the motive behind the Centre for Policy Development report remains clear. Assign a monetary value to the marine environment and then argue the case of economic loss should it not be protected.

That logic has been employed with great success by American environmental research group, Pew, which campaigns to stop fishing.

Public access to our waterways should be retained, and gear, bag and size limits should be used as management tools if and when the fish need it. After all, angling is the least damaging of all food production methods, even greener than farming lentils.

Back in the real world, agreeable weather will see long-range fishers chasing yellowfin tuna. The currents look favourable along the shelf to the north of Broken Bay.

Our central coast stringer and skipper Scott Thorrington has been catching kingfish to 12 kilograms on the 90-metre reefs. We also hear of solid kings holding in the same depth just north and south of Sydney Heads.

But be warned: the leatherjackets are in plague proportions, snipping lines, pilfering $20 jigs and filling the commercial traps intended for snapper. One pro sent 250 kilograms of leatherjacket tails to the markets the other day. The tails equate to half the original fish weight comprising head and guts.

Closer in, striped tuna are scooting about in 40-80 metres. They are the ultimate bait for the snapper and flathead holding on the shallow reefs. Aussie salmon are schooling around the headlands, estuary mouths and patrolling the beaches.

As forecast in previous weeks, big whiting are mooching about the harbour, Pittwater and Botany Bay beaches. Brisbane Water is another whiting hot spot, especially on the local live squirt worms.

Luderick are in season and just about everywhere in the estuaries. Some solid tailor have turned up on the troll and also on live baits. But the trevally and bream remain the mainstay, as more and more flathead gradually awaken from slumber.

It has been a tough few weeks for many anglers. The good news is the warm spring days will see an increase in water temperature and, thus, fish activity in the weeks ahead.