Fed: Reef plans to cost Qld coastal communities $13.5 mln

AAP General News (Australia)
12-23-2003
Fed: Reef plans to cost Qld coastal communities $13.5 mln

CANBERRA, Dec 23 AAP - A federal government plan to further protect the Great Barrier
Reef will cost Queensland coastal fishing communities at least $13.5 million a year, a
new report has found.

The Bureau of Rural Sciences report said Bundaberg ($2 million a year), Townsville
($1.1 million), Cairns ($1 million) and Gladstone ($1 million) would suffer the biggest
financial costs.

But a series of small communities that rely heavily on fishing from the reef are likely
to be the hardest hit, including Airlie Beach, Ayr, Bowen and Yeppoon.

In a move to protect the reef's biodiversity, the government plans to increase the
area under protection to 33 per cent from 4.5 per cent.

Fishing will be banned from those newly-protected areas.

The bureau found about a third of Queensland wild caught fish come from the Great Barrier
Reef Marine Park.

"Commercial catches are at or above sustainable levels for many of the targeted species,
and the short-term impact of displaced fishing efforts is likely to reduce total fishing
production," it found.

The gross value of production from trawl, net, line and crab fisheries would drop $10.3
million, or about 10 per cent, because of the new reef closures.

Total losses would hit between $13.5 million and $14 million once collection and beam
trawl fisheries were taken into account.

The bureau said the town facing the toughest future because of the increased reef protection
would be Bowen, where fishers relied heavily on the reef and those areas to be protected,
and the community itself was closely tied to the fishing industry.

Fisheries Minister Ian Macdonald said the government had committed itself to a structural
adjustment package for those people hit by the reef closures.

The bureau said many of those fishers affected by reef closure wanted to stay fishing.

"Previous studies of the fishing industry point to a clear preference for fishers to
remain in the industry," it said.

"When considering potential impacts from the representative areas program, factors
such as the capacity of fishers to alter their operations, or seek alternative activities
are relevant."

Despite the initial financial costs, the bureau said the increased protection of the
reef and fish stocks would provide financial benefits in the longer term for the affected
communities.

"The potential for increased tourism activity, and the possibility for increased yields
from fish stocks associated with positive benefits to fisheries of protected areas, may
provide for more positive long-term social impact," it said.

AAP sw/tma/br

KEYWORD: REEF

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