WPSQ welcomes the announcement by the federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett that he has commissioned an independent review of proposed changes to the East Coast Inshore Fin Fish Fishery, announced on Monday 22 September 2008.

The review will be carried out by a panel chaired by the deputy chief of Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) Marine and Atmospheric Research and will be completed by the end of October 2008.

The federal Minister has asked for the review to assist in his upcoming assessment of the fishery under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act 1999.

The independent review will assess proposed changes to the fishery that were put forward December 2007 by the Queensland DPI.

Federal Minister Garrett announced the review following discussions with Queensland's Minister for Primary Industries and Fisheries, the Hon Tim Mulherin MP, in relation to the industry's likely impacts on shark populations, and potential interactions with protected species such as dugongs, whales and swordfish.

Why the current East Coast Inshore Fin Fish Fishery is unsustainable

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