Thursday, March 28, 2024
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Opinion: Shark decision the sensible option

THE decision by federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt to not list five shark species – three types of threshers and two hammerhead species – as part of the Convention of Migratory Species is the right move for Australia.

Although Hunt is being slammed by environment groups for his actions, the reality of the matter is that signing up for this convention would achieve no environmental benefits in Australian waters. It would, however, place recreational fishermen in an untenable situation.

There are already conservation and management plans in place for sharks in Australia. If Hunt signed up up for CMS listing, nothing would change other than anglers facing the risk of huge fines and even jail time for accidently catching one of these species.

Environment groups led by the Humane Society International seem to place more value in Australia signing a piece of paper than they do in addressing the real problems facing sharks (and many other species) worldwide. These problems include rampant overfishing by countries with far worse records than Australia when it comes to fisheries management.

What point is there in signing up for a convention that would result in Aussie anglers being jailed for catching (and releasing) a shark when longline fleets in Asia are finning and dumping literally thousands and thousands of them every day?

This is hypocrisy at its most extreme. The only way a plan like the CMS could work in relation to the five shark species in question is if all fishing was banned. But maybe that’s exactly what the anti-fishing zealots want …

It’s right and proper that a country like Australia should lead the way with responsible protection of vulnerable species. As Greg Hunt has demonstrated, that doesn’t always mean we have to sign up to treaties or plans that achieve nothing apart from giving green extremists a nice fuzzy feeling.

Jim Harnwell is the editor and publisher of Fishing World magazine.

 

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