Ombudsman busts AFMA … Wilkie complaint upheld

Picture: Greenpeace

Speakers included Paul O’Halloran, Andrew Wilkie, Julie Collins, and right, Dr Jonathan Nevill

The Independent Member for Denison, Andrew Wilkie, has been advised by the Commonwealth Ombudsman that AFMA did in fact fail to comply with the Fisheries Administration Act when it set the quota relevant to the super trawler.

Over the last two months Mr Wilkie has lodged a number of complaints with the Ombudsman regarding AFMA’s conduct when setting the quota. She agreed to investigate and this became central to Environment Minister Tony Burke’s condemnation of AFMA and Independent Rob Oakeshott’s decision to support banning the vessel.

“This is a dramatic development and a thumping win for proper process and the rule of law,” Mr Wilkie said.

“No less than the Commonwealth Ombudsman has agreed AFMA has acted unlawfully, and this should rule a line under the whole sorry super trawler saga and compel the Senate to kill the project forever next Monday.

”Moreover the Ombudsman has informed me she is investigating ‘other matters’ which adds to the case that AFMA is in serious need of reform, that the Government’s decision to stop the boat is entirely warranted and that the House of Representative’s passing of legislation was the right thing to do. It’s up to the Senate now to finish the job.

“Super trawlers stink, but even worse is government agencies thinking they’re above the law. Hopefully this will lead to changes which might give us much more confidence in future that our environment as well as recreational and sensible commercial fishing is protected.”

Download a copy of the Commonwealth Ombudsman’s latest letter to Mr Wilkie:
Ombudsman_to_Wilkie_14_Sep_12_REDACTED.pdf

• Earlier on Tasmanian Times, John Hawkins: Questions for Mr Geen, includes links to earlier research

• Rebecca Hubbard, Marine Coordinator, Environment Tasmania, Nobby Clark, President of the Tasmanian Tuna Club: No Super Trawlers Rally Hears Quota Declared Unlawful

The No Super Trawlers Rally today heard that the Seafish quota on which the super trawler would base it’s fishing of small pelagic fish was gained through an unlawful process, and that fishing and environment groups would continue to push for the Bill to pass through Government in order to protect fisheries and marine life.

“There was a great turnout from the community in support of the bill to stop the super trawler. This support comes from a broad cross section of the community – from recreational fishers, environment groups, commercial fishers, and local businesses,” said Rebecca Hubbard, Marine Coordinator of Environment Tasmania.

“Now that it is clear that AFMA has acted unlawfully in its process to increase the quota for Seafish, the whole of the Federal Senate, and particularly the Liberal Party who have failed to respond to community concerns thus far, must stand up and support the Bill to stop the super trawler,” said Ms Hubbard.

“We should be supporting small commercial operators to sustainably fish our fisheries and maintain long-term jobs in local communities. Australia is not ready for industrial fishing, and may never be,” said Nobby Clark, President of the Tuna Club of Tasmania.

The rally was organized by the Tuna Club of Tasmania, Environment Tasmania and GetUp.

Speakers included Nobby Clarke of the Tuna Club of Tasmania, Rebecca Hubbard Environment Tasmania, Paul (Basil) O’Halloran MP Greens Member for Braddon, The Hon Julie Collins MP ALP Member for Franklin, Dr Jonathan Nevill retired scientist, political analyst and author of recent book “Overfishing under Regulation” and Andrew Wilkie MP Independent Member for Denison.

• SUPER TRAWLER BATTLE IS NOT OVER YET
Tasmanian Libs Must Lobby Liberal Senators

Paul O’Halloran MP
Greens Member for Braddon
Saturday, 15 September 2012

The Tasmanian Greens today congratulated the thousands of people involved in the campaign to stop the super trawler formerly known as the FV Margiris.

Greens Member for Braddon Paul O’Halloran MP today spoke at the ‘Stop Super Trawlers’ rally in Hobart and urged the community to maintain pressure on Senate representatives to support the Bill recently passed by the Commonwealth House of Representatives.

“This is democracy in its purest form, and it’s only because thousands of Australians led by a core group of dedicated campaigners were prepared to stand up for the community and the oceans,” Mr O’Halloran said.

“One of the most gratifying things about this campaign is how recreational fishers and environmentalists have put aside their differences to fight together in the best interests of the community.”

“This collaborative approach was mirrored in the Tasmanian House of Assembly when all three political parties voted to oppose the trawler, sending a loud message to Federal MPs.”

“It just shows what can be achieved when politicians and members of the community put aside entrenched rivalries and work together for the good of everyone.”

“The Greens are calling on the Tasmanian Liberals show a bit more courage that they have so far, by lobbying their Senate colleagues to support the Bill recently passed in the House of Representatives.”

“The job’s not over yet, and the entire community will need to keep up the pressure on Senate representatives to pass the bill to stop the trawler.”

• Global Mail:

By Ellen Fanning, Clare Blumer
ENVIRONMENT | September 15, 2012

A frazzled receptionist was answering phone calls this week to Seafish Tasmania, the company responsible for luring the world’s second largest mega-trawler to Australian waters (though it now seems unlikely to catch a single Australian fish).

The poor woman complained that amid the saturation publicity (200 media calls a day) being given to her boss’s efforts to operate the 9,499-tonne super-trawler in Australian waters, someone had signed her up to receive daily emails from a dizzying number of religious websites. So many, they were causing the company’s email server to crash.

Emails from Religion Today and The Wisdom Retreat were being redirected straight to the junk mail folder, she said.

Perhaps, given that the nation’s parliament is in the midst of banning its megatrawler from the area, the director of Seafish Tasmania Gerry Geen will now have the time to trawl back through that junk email folder and fish out any bit of wisdom he can get his hands on.

On September 12, Geen wrote in an article published in Fairfax newspapers that Seafish Tasmania had carried out research, along with a leading marine research institute, into what he called the “highly emotive issue” of dolphins and seals getting caught up in big trawling nets. And that Seafish Tasmania now has a special device which “will lead these animals to escape”.

Seafish Tasmania did participate in research that was conducted by the University of Tasmania’s Aquaculture and Fisheries Institute over 13 months to February of 2007.

The research was paid for by the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA), through the Natural Heritage Trust and the Research Fund, the federal Department of Environment and Water Resources and the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society.

Not a dollar came from Seafish Tasmania, according to the Institute’s communications manager.

Seafish Tasmania’s role was to allow scientists to use its trawler, the 800-tonne F/V Ellidi, and having its crew help them set video cameras in mid-water trawl nets during trawling operations to assess different devices designed to allow seals and dolphins — air-breathing creatures — to escape from the nets before they drowned.

The F/V Ellidi had already had its fair share of heartache over the issue of bycatch.

Back in late 2004, the trawler accidentally caught 17 dolphins in its nets in three separate incidents in waters off Flinders and Maria islands, even though it had escape devices in its nets.

(A formal AFMA investigation eventually declared the incidents “an unexpected and unusual occurrence” and concluded that Seafish Tasmania had not breached any laws or permit conditions.)

During the 2007 bycatch research project, more than 700 hours of video footage was taken, showing about 170 seals swimming into the nets to steal fish during trawling.

Some of the video footage can be seen on Seafish Tasmania’s website. It shows what are most probably Australian fur seals escaping safely from the net through what is called a “seal exclusion device”.

But the research, published in 2008, actually showed these failed rather a lot, leaving perhaps as many as 27 seals dead. That’s about 17 per cent of all seals which entered the nets. What’s more, some of them drowned after getting tangled up in the very safety device, designed to offer them an escape.

…

Read the rest, The Global Mail here

Today’s anti-super trawler rally. Pics by Douglas O’Neil