Moreton Bay Zoning Plan released for comment

Moreton Bay wildlife
needs more protection.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has reached Stage 2 of its scheduled 10-year review of the zoning plan for Moreton Bay Marine Park. The Draft Zoning Plan has now been released and is available for public comment

How to make a submission

The closing date for submissions is 5pm, 7 March 2008. Submissions must be made in writing to the EPA.

Environment Protection Agency submission page

Important - To make a submission you will need to read and refer to the draft zoning plan, including the Regulatory Impact Statement and draft Public Benefit Test. These documents are available on the EPA website.

Why make a submission?

Look but don’t touch

What’s a Green Zone? A Green
Zone is a defined area in which
people can swim, boat, snorkel,
and dive but not interfere with,
damage, catch or remove sea life.

Green Zones are sometimes
referred to as ‘no-take zones’ but
they can be more accurately
defined as a place in which the
public can ‘look but not touch’.

Moreton Bay currently contains
only 1% Green Zone. The
international minimum standard
is 30%.

The revised plan needs to be better. Tell the EPA how to improve on the Stage 2 proposals.

This is the last opportunity for the community to plan the future of Moreton Bay. Here are some ideas for your submission:

Increase Green Zone percentage. The plan proposes 15% of the Bay as Green Zone. This is an improvement on the current 1% but still too low. The Bay needs 30% Green Zones (still leaving 70% for fishing)
Increase locations of Green Zones. The locations picked for Green Zones are appropriate but crucial areas still need to be included (see Moreton Bay Report Card 2007)
Green Zones support resilience: Moreton Bay is an incredibly diverse and unique ecosystem but under increasing pressure. The Bay needs more Green Zones to be resilient against these threats:

Population of south-east Queensland is expanding by 50,000 a year with associated increasing pressures – boating, fishing, pollution, and coastal development.
Climate change: 50% of the corals off Shag Rock have already experienced coral bleaching.
Turtle deaths and dugong deaths: causes include boat strikes, plastic bags, and discarded fishing gear.

Green Zones support fishing. Fisheries around the world, including Moreton Bay’s, are collapsing. Green Zones are nurseries for fish and marine life.

Want more information?

Moreton Bay Report Card 2007 released by Wildlife Queensland, the Australian Marine Conservation Society and the Queensland Conservation Council gives details on which locations still need to be listed as Green Zones.
Climate Change and the Great Barrier Reef: A Vulnerability Assessment released by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) is a peer-reviewed publication compiled as a collaboration between GBRMPA and over 80 leading climate and tropical marine experts.
Save Moreton Bay
Moreton Bay zoning plan background information

For more information on Wildlife Queensland's activities, contact us by email or call +61 7 3221 0194.

December 2007

Wildlfie Preservation Society of Queensland