Blue is the New Green: Support Marine Parks

The Torn Blue Fringe: A detailed overview

The following outlines The Torn Blue Fringe's proposed Marine Parks on the NSW coast.* These Parks are multiple-use enabling fishing in the majority of their waters whilst fully protecting the remaining areas as sanctuary zones. Additional Aquatic Reserve sanctuaries are proposed between these marine parks to complete the network of sanctuary protection along the NSW coast. These are areas for swimming, boating and diving but where fishing is prohibited to protect marine life.

Far North Coast

The Bundjalung Marine Park is proposed stretching from Snapper Point (south of Evans Head) down to North Head (west of Iluka). This marine park would help connect the gap between Cape Byron and Solitary Islands Marine Parks, a distance of over 100km. As the distance between MPAs increases, functional connectivity diminishes. Evans Head is a localised centre of upwelling which can generate significant biological productivity. The proposed park would play an important role in protecting seagrass, mangrove and saltmarsh habitats in the area.

Mid North Coast

Stretching from Nambucca Heads in the north to Newcastle in the south, this area features the Port Stephens - Great Lakes Marine Park. However, there are over 200km between this park and the Solitary Island Marine Park. To fill this gap and ensure connectivity between the parks, and to protect endangered Grey Nurse Sharks, the multiple-use Smokey Cape Marine Park has been proposed for South West Rocks whilst the Laurieton Marine Park has been proposed for the area between the north headland of Lake Cathie and Crowdy Head. While marine park sanctuary zones help fish stocks to grow and develop, the majority of these waters would remain open to fishing.

Sydney region: An immediate priority!

This is the key area in need of immediate protection for NSW. Currently this stretch of coastline has been practically ignored for marine protection with just 0.4% of the area from Stockton Beach to Wollongong fully protected as sanctuary. The Torn Blue Fringe proposes a large and critically important Sydney Marine Park extending from The Entrance in the north to the southern extent of the Royal National Park, and which encompasses Grey Nurse Shark aggregation sites. This Sydney Marine Park would be a multiple-use zone, meaning commercial and recreational fishing can continue in most of the area whilst sanctuary zones in the park will provide necessary protection to pockets of its waters, helping to relieve fishing pressures across the whole region.

South Coast

This region has two existing Marine Parks; the Batemans Marine Park and the Jervis Bay Marine Park. However there are important sections lacking protection in this area. These would be protected by several Aquatic Reserve sanctuaries, whilst a proposed extension to the Jervis Bay Marine Park in its north, south and central zones will capture important habitats within the park and extend the park out to the 3 nautical mile state limit, as consistent with other Marine Parks in NSW.

Far South Coast

This region is characterised by long sandy beaches, rocky headlands and numerous coastal lagoons. A multiple-use Twofold Bay Marine Park is proposed to extend from Merimbula to Green Cape. An Aquatic Reserve sanctuary is additionally proposed between Black Rock and Cape Howe on the Victorian border, adjacent to the Cape Howe Marine National Park, helping to preserve these relatively undisturbed marine habitats and distinct ecological assemblages in the State's southernmost waters.

* For the full proposals please click here

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Blue Is The New Green

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