FED:Marine life not protected: scientists

AAP General News (Australia)
08-05-2011
FED:Marine life not protected: scientists

CANBERRA, Aug 5 AAP - Marine life in Australia's southwest is not protected by the
federal government's proposed marine parks, scientists say.

More than 150 marine scientists have signed a statement of concern that calls for Environment
Minister Tony Burke to extend the system of protected areas.

They say less than 3.5 per cent of the continental shelf in the southwest region is
properly protected.

This is an area where both extraction of resources and biodiversity vales are most
intense, the statement says.

The southwest area includes the Abrolhos region, the Rottnest Shelf, the Perth Canyon,
Geographe Bay and the Capes, the Albany Canyons, the Recherche region, the Great Australian
Bight, Kangaroo Islands Canyons, and the Kangaroo Island upwelling system.

"If implemented as proposed, the marine reserves would cover less than half of the
mapped habitat types within the southwest planning region within highly protected areas,"

the statement says.

"This would be a major failure for the whole marine planning process and send a poor
signal internationally."

The scientists are concerned the proposed marine park plan is not based core scientific
principles of nature reserve networks.

AAP klc/jfm

KEYWORD: MARINE

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