By 3 News online staff
The Australian government is to ban 'super trawlers' from fishing in Australian waters for up to two years.
The cabinet agreed last night to introduce the legislation in the face of public pressure and growing unrest on the ruling Labor party backbench, ABC News reports.
The fishing ban will allow scientific research to be carried out on the impact of super trawlers on the environment.
The FV Abel Tasman super trawler, currently docked at Port Lincoln in South Australia, was due to begin fishing in the next few days. The 142m, Dutch-owned ship is operated jointly by Seafish Tasmania and a Dutch fishing company. Seafish Tasmania has a nearly 18,000-tonne fish quota in the fishery.
But Environment Minister Tony Burke says there has never been a vessel with the capacity of the Abel Tasman in Australia before, and together with Fisheries Minister Joe Ludwig he announced today that they were not prepared to risk the possible impact the vessel could have on protected species, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.
The new legislation will give environment and fisheries ministers extended powers under environmental law to intervene if they believe new fishing activity could be damaging to the environment.
This will apply to any super trawler or new kind of fishing activity, not just the Abel Tasman.
Fierce opposition
The Abel Tasman, formerly named the Margiris, arrived in Australia in August, and was been met with a fierce campaign of opposition led by community and environmental groups.
Greenpeace describes super trawling as “an indiscriminate fishing method which can decimate fish stocks and kill turtles, dolphins, seals and other marine animals”.
Greenpeace head of campaigns Ben Pearson says the government’s decision to halt the vessel’s operations is a victory for Australian communities.
“This is what happens when we all stand together,” he says.
“Thousands of people across Australia turned out to rallies, sent letters to editors, and pressured their local MPs. More than one person signed the Greenpeace petition ‘No super trawlers’ every minute.
“The two year ban is welcome and we always support more scientific investigations into how we manage our oceans more sustainably.”
3 News